Once Upon a Supernatural Time
by myformofimagination
Summary: Henry Mills needs help convincing his new-found mother, Emma Swan, to believe in magic so she can break Storybrooke's curse. Could Dean and Sam Winchester be just the help he needs to get Emma to believe? Or will they also need some convincing? Dean's dealt with a lot of things - demons, angels, witches, werewolfs - but magic may be a bit out of his belief system.
1. Chapter 1: Get This

**Disclaimer: This story takes place near the end of Season 1 of Once Upon a Time, right after Mary Margaret is proven innocent of Kathryn's "death". So sometime after "The Return". It also takes place around the middle of Season 5 of Supernatural. I own neither show nor their characters, though I have put my own spin on the story. Thank you for finding your way here and I hope you stay!**

* * *

**The Impala**

"Dude, there's nothing out here! I'm telling you, I just got this map last week and I've looked over the coordinates like a hundred times and there's nothing but forest," Dean Winchester said with his knuckles gripping the steering wheel tight. His brother, Sam, could tell he was frustrated; he'd never handle Baby this way if he wasn't.

"That's not what the email said. There's a town and someone needs our help."

Dean sighed, finally loosening his grip on the wheel and turning the station until he heard the opening to Black Dog by Led Zeppelin. His mood instantly lightened up as his head started to bob to the music.

"Alright, alright. Just tell me the story, man. Where'd this guy come from?"

Sam took out his lap top and opened it up. The email was already up on his screen. "Ok, well you remember those two goons Harry and Ed who made that web series Ghostfacers? Well they're pretty popular in the supernatural internet culture, surprisingly. I just try to keep an eye on them every now and then and see what they're up too. Making sure they're not getting into too much trouble or getting in over their heads. Anyway, I was watching one of their live videos and this guy messaged them asking if they could connect him to Sam and Dean. Ed barely got through reading the message before he stopped and proclaimed that they didn't have anything to do with those 'Winchester douchnozzels' anymore," Sam smiled. "Yeah, I think they're still sore from that little stunt you pulled erasing their footage from the Morton House case a couple years ago."

Dean's smiled widened as he thought about the electromagnet he'd planted which ended up erasing their hard drive of their pilot episode. He chuckled, "Ha! I bet. We saved their asses and taught them a lot. They should be thankful. So anyway, we got a distress call through the geeks, but did they ever get to what the guy wanted?"

Sam huffed, "Obviously, or we wouldn't be here."

Dean hated sarcastic Sam. "Bitch."

"Jerk… Yeah, I called them and forced them to send me the email."

"And by force you mean threatened?" Dean said with a smirk.

"Right. The email was from a henrymills815 with the subject 'Operation Cobra'. He said that there's a curse on his town that only he is aware of. He's heard of us and figured we were his best chance of helping break it. He said there's a lot more information but he would rather talk about it in person. From the tone of it there seems to be some kind of time limit and they're running out of it."

Dean thought it over. "Ok, so an entire town is cursed. That's pretty unusual. You think we're dealing with a cursed object or something? But that usually doesn't affect an entire town, just the person or building. Are we sure this is even our kind of thing? Maybe the guy has been watching too many Ghostfacer episodes."

"That's what I thought. But get this, when I tried to do some research on the town, I found nothing."

Dean's brow creased. "What do you mean, nothing?"

"I mean, according to every map and satellite and census – there is no town."

"See! I told you there's nothing wrong with my maps. So we're driving out to some town that doesn't even exist?"

"Well, not exactly. I dug a little deeper and found an article from the 80's about a little boy who claimed that his dad was stolen by the mayor of a town by the same name. He told the cops that he and his dad were camping in the forest in the middle of nowhere when an electrical storm hit their camp. The next morning they found themselves in the wooded area of a town that wasn't there the day before. He said it was as if the town just landed there over night."

Dean paused Sam's speech, "Wait, electrical storm. Doesn't that sound very demon-esc to you?"

Sam continued speaking. "The boy says that they went into town and stayed for a few days while their truck was at the mechanics. They had lunch with the mayor one night and the next day when they tried to leave, his father said that the mayor was doing some kind of magic and _made_ the sheriff arrest his father for drunk driving. The boy continued saying that his father and him tried to escape, but they were chased by the mayor and sheriff. When they got to the city line, the sheriff cut them off and got his father, forcing him into his car. The boy said he ran away, but not before the mayor tried to persuade him to stay with them. Now, here's the interesting part -"

"What, and that whole chase scene and magic wasn't interesting enough?" Dean said, trying to wrap his brain around everything Sam was saying. Now there were a lot of things Dean believed in. Hell, he fought the boogeyman on the weekends. But magic? Sure he's dealt with witches and dark supernatural forces – but he refused to call any of it magic. There was always an explanation.

Sam shushed Dean and went on with his story. "When the boy finally found the police and told them his story, they took him back to the place where the boy claimed the town to be. But when they got there – nothing. No town, no buildings. Not a house for miles. Just a road surrounded by forest; just as it was when the boy and his dad first arrived."

"So, naturally the cops called the boy crazy and dismissed the entire case?" Dean asked, already knowing the answer.

Sam nodded, "Exactly. The only reason this article is even out there is because some hokey x-files-like newspaper picked it up when the kid got older and wouldn't stop talking about it."

"So, what are we thinking here? Guy gets held hostage about 20 years ago in a cursed, invisible town with magic. But now some other guy, or maybe even the same guy, from the town is reaching out for help because some time limit is about to expire that has to do with the curse. And somehow we're going to be able to get into this place with this guy's help and fix the town. Sounds like a breeze."

Sam just sat quietly and nodded his head, aware of the sarcasm in his brother's voice. He, too, was having doubts about this whole scheme. What if they got there and there wasn't even anything around? What if they couldn't get into the town? What if this guy was setting them up on a trap? The angels had been on their case lately about this whole apocalypse thing. Or maybe there really was a town and a guy who needed their help. This was their job. Saving people, hunting things.

Dean sighed, "So what's the name of this magical town anyway?"

"Storybrooke."

"_Storybrooke_? Seriously?" Dean reached over and picked up the paper with the coordinates on it. "Alright, Storybrooke. You can't hide forever." He slammed on the acceleration and drove down the empty road while Van Halen blared over the speakers.


	2. Chapter 2: The Big Picture

**Storybrooke**

Emma Swan sat at the corner booth in the back; perfect for avoiding the eyes of the other customers and being out of the way. She had her head in her hands, rubbing her temples as she tried to clear her mind. She just wanted one second of the peace she deserved.

"Emma!" she heard behind her, causing her to jump and lose her tranquil state. Henry jumped in the seat across from her and smiled. She couldn't help herself, this kid was adorable. She was starting to love his presence, what little bit of it she could get.

"Hey, kid. Are you ready to get to school soon?" she asked, checking the clock on the wall to make sure he had some time to eat.

"Yep!" Ruby came over and wrote down his order of pancakes and her order of cocoa with toast. "I'm really excited to have Miss Blanchard back. Speaking of, now that we've solved this case, we can get back to Operation Cobra."

Emma felt her entire body sigh. The curse. If she didn't hear one more mention of it, it would be too soon. She was starting to doubt Dr. Hopper's advice about 'just going with' this language of his. Sure, it was creative. And even a little cute. But how long was she supposed to keep this up? How long was _he_ supposed to keep this up? Wasn't this kind of stuff dangerous after a certain age? But what was more damaging: letting him continue to think this way, or destroying his delicate mind-state? She decided on the latter.

"Right. Operation Cobra. What's new now?"

"There's another story in my book."

She looked up, genuinely surprised. "What? How is that possible? You pretty much have that thing memorized. How did you miss an entire story?"

He pouted, insulted by her lack of faith in him. "I didn't! Remember how it went missing? I think someone added in another story. This one wasn't here before, I promise!" He opened his book to the page while Ruby dropped off their drinks and food. "But the weird thing is, it's not finished."

She gave him a skeptical look as she scooped a bit of the whip cream off of her cocoa with her finger, "What do you mean it's not finished? Who would purposely put a story in _your _book and forget to add the ending? What story is it anyway?"

"Pinocchio," he said, starting on his breakfast.

"Pinocchio? But everyone knows the end of that story: puppet turns into a real boy because he sacrifices himself for his father." Henry looks up at his mother with a proud smile on his face. "What? I've watched the Disney movies, ok?"

"Ok, ok." Henry looked at his watch and began to scarf down the rest of his pancake. Then he cleared his plate and closed his book, stuffing it in his backpack.

Emma, barely finishing one piece of her toast, looked shocked at her kid's sudden initiative to get to school early. "In a hurry?"

"No, just don't want to be late. Big day today," he said, putting on his backpack.

Emma raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? Care to fill me in?"

Henry cocked his head to the side, studying her face as if he were trying to decide. "No, you're not ready yet."

"Is it for Operation Cobra? Or are you starting a new operation I'm not ready for?"

"It's for Operation Cobra! Just kind of a subsection of it. Don't worry; I'll let you in on it soon." He said, turning to head out the door. "I can walk myself to school. You're still finishing your breakfast. Bye Emma!"

"Bye, Henry," she said, knowing he couldn't hear her since he was already out the door. When she turned around she saw August heading through the back door from the hotel. She sighed, not ready for his entertainment today. She had enough to worry about. She needed to see Mr. Gold and talk with him about her custody battle against Regina. She needed his help if she were going to battle against the Big-Bad Mayor.

August clearly didn't catch the 'screw off' vibe she was trying to send out, because he helped himself to Henry's empty seat across from her. But Emma needed all the allies she could get, so she didn't tell him to leave. "Good morning, August."

"Hello, Emma. Lovely chat with your boy, there? I didn't want to interrupt, but there's something important that I need to talk with you about." Emma continued drinking her cocoa as she waited for him to continue. "You're never going to beat Regina if you don't look at the big picture here."

"Oh yeah?" she asked, skeptically. Sure, August had been loyal to her when she was trying to help Mary Margaret. But there was still something sketchy about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Her super power kept picking up some things, but she couldn't exactly piece together what it was that was off. He just had this whole aura about him that screamed hidden agenda.

"You need to let me help you."

To this she raised her brow. How was August the traveling writer supposed to help her in a custody battle? "What are you going to do, write a strongly worded story in my defense? Thanks, buddy. But I think I'd be better off with Mr. Gold. He might be sleazy, but he knows the law. And he's my only hope."

August suppressed his disappointment. Again, she got the feeling he was hiding something. But he only nodded, "Ok. But if things don't pan out, you know where I'll be."

He got up and left, leaving her alone in her booth for the second time.

* * *

A few hours later Emma left Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop angry, letting the door slam behind her on the way out. Screw his little bell. _Bastard_, she thought, _battle I can't win my ass. _She headed straight for Granny's. Now that she was out of options she decided to put her trust in the only person who seemed to have an answer for her.

She knocked on August's door. He didn't look surprised to see her, but she decided to overlook this. "I'm out of options. If it will help me beat Regina, I'm willing to see the big picture." August smiled wide.

Suddenly Emma's pocket began to vibrate. She pulled out her phone and noticed the number. "Mary Margaret? Aren't you in class; everything ok?" Concern that her roommate was having a nervous breakdown on her first day back to teaching after everything that had happened clouded her mind.

"No, no. I'm fine. It's Henry." Emma's heart dropped a little; motherly instinct. "He was here this morning, but after recess he never showed back up to class. We've looked everywhere for him. You didn't happen to take him, did you?"

"No, I didn't," Emma whispered. _Big day today_, his words echoed in her brain. "Do you think Regina might have picked him up?"

"Without letting anyone know? I doubt it. I ran into her this morning when she dropped off his lunch. We had a few words about her setting me up for murder, but I don't think she would have done anything to take him right in the middle of the day. No, I think he just left on his own. You know how independent that kid is."

"Yeah," Emma replied, worry building up inside her the longer they talked. "I'll find him. Keep me updated if you hear anything." Emma hung up her phone and put it back in her pocket. "Rain check on that big picture stuff, August. I've gotta go find my kid."

She turned and left, making her way to the staircase. "Wait, Emma, stop – ah!" August hopped back into his room in pain. Emma heard him gasp, but she couldn't stop to see what the matter was. She'd notice his leg hurting him the other day, and assumed it was no big deal. _Probably just a cramp_.

Little did she know that August's leg was turning into wood.


	3. Chapter 3: The Curse

**The Impala**

"Sam, I swear if you say almost there one more time I'm going to lose it!" Dean threatened. He was getting restless, especially since their destination was still an unclear one.

Sam shook his head. "I'm telling you man. One more mile, that's it. And we're just in time. This Henry guy said he would meet us at the town line at noon. It's 5 minutes till; we made perfect timing. We're almost there," Sam said, instantly wincing at his use of the last phrase.

Dean pounded on his steering wheel and let out a bunch of nonsense words under his breath. Sam could only make out a few _damn, shit, _and _fucks_.

"Look! There's a kid sitting on the side of the road," Sam pointed out. Dean slowed his Baby down until they stopped next to the kid.

Dean rolled down his window, "Hey kid. What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"

The kid looked up from the book he had in his lap. He cocked his head and studied the brothers. "Sam and Dean Winchester?"

Dean sighed, _you've got to be kidding me. _

"Henry Mills?" Sam asked.

Henry's face lit up as he hopped off of the ground and packed his book back in his bag. "Glad you made it! I've been waiting here for like 10 minutes. We better get going." Henry opened the door to the backseat of Baby and climbed in.

Dean couldn't handle this. He put the car in park and spun around. "I am not going anywhere until you explain yourself, kid. How old are you anyway, like 5?"

Henry pouted, unhappy with how things were progressing. "I'm 10. I'm guessing you're Dean. I heard you were a bit testier than Sam. It's ok, you remind me of my mom."

"Sorry about him," Sam started. "You're right. I'm Sam and this is Dean. So you're the Henry Mills who messaged us? How can we help you?"

Dean rolled his eyes at Sam's attempt to be soothing.

"You have to help me break the curse," Henry said, matter-of-fact-like. "We've gotta get my mom to believe."

"So, what is this curse anyway? Besides a cheesy town name…" Dean asked, trying not to be too hard on the kid. He'd calmed down some and figured he could at least humor him.

Henry's face lit up at the question and he dug into his backpack. "See this book? It's full of the town's history."

He handed the book to Sam who flipped it open and started skimming through it. "Fairy tales? The history of Storybrooke is a bunch of fairy tales?"

"Man," Dean whined. "We already did the fairy tale thing with that town in Maple Springs."

Henry looked confused. "Ignore him," Sam explains. "Go on."

"See, everything in this book actually happened."

"Of course they did," Dean says under his breath.

"They're all from another world. They were sent to our world through a curse by the Evil Queen to ruin everyone's happy endings. Especially Snow White's. The curse makes time stand still and the people don't remember who they really are. They've been living the same life for the last 28 years."

Dean and Sam stared at the little boy. They've heard a lot of crazy things, but this took the cake. Dean cleared his throat, "The evil queen sent a bunch of fairy tale characters here."

"Yeah, and now they're trapped." Henry was growing impatient. By now he knew Emma would realize he'd skipped out on the remainder of school and would be looking for him.

"Frozen in time; stuck in Storybrooke, Maine. That's what you're going with?" Dean asked.

Déjà vu hung in the air for Henry, feeling as if he'd had this conversation before. "It's true!"

"Then why doesn't everyone just leave?" Dean was sure he had him on this one.

Henry sighed, "They can't. If they try, bad things happen."

"Then how come you left?" Sam asked. Dean snapped his fingers and pointed to his brother, happy that they finally got something to stump this kid.

"I wasn't born here, so I can leave. But I'm the only one who can. Well, me and my mom. And this August guy, but that's not important. I'm telling you, no one's ever left and no one has ever entered – until now. And it's only because I brought my mom here. Everyone else in the town, the people who are cursed, they can't leave. Like I said, if they try bad things happen. Already there's been cars breaking down and a girl even went into labor."

Sam and Dean looked a bit confused, wondering what the significance of a girl going into labor was. Unaware that she'd been pregnant for as long as Henry had been alive. Sam shook his head, his brain swimming with all the information they were getting thrown at them. "So how are we supposed to get in if no one has ever entered?"

Dean already had his head in his hand. He was getting a head ache.

"Because you're with me! It's how I got my mom in. Come on, we need to hurry. She's probably already looking for me. I kind of snuck out of school to meet you guys here," Henry said. Dean smiled and breathed out a "nice". Sam gave him a glare telling him not to promote this sort of action.

Dean started up his Baby and drove forward. There was a silence in the car for the next couple of minutes; everyone was waiting to see what was going to happen. Dean noticed that he was actually anxious about whether or not a town would appear. He imagined it would be like entering some kind of force field. But when they approached a concrete sign that read "Welcome to Storybrooke", three sighs of relief filled the car.

"Well, I guess the town is real," Dean said, noticing they still didn't see any buildings or streets.

"Duh," Henry said. Dean's brow creased; it'd been a long time since he'd been duh-ed. He chuckled. "Hey, can we stop and get something to eat first? I left my lunch at school."

They finally drove into some kind of development and Dean began to slow down even more, taking time to look at the buildings around him. Small town, just like he'd pictured. "Isn't there some kind of curse-thing that needs to be taken care of?"

"Can't save the town on an empty stomach," Henry said with a convincing smile.

Dean smirked at Sam, "I like this kid. He has his priorities straight."

Henry directed them to Granny's Diner. _Corny_, Dean thought. He parked his Baby on the side of the road and noticed the stares from the locals. Henry led the way into the Diner. Everyone turned and looked at Sam and Dean when they walked in. "Well, this is welcoming," Dean said sarcastically to Sam.

"Come on guys, there's a free booth over here," Henry called to them, taking a seat.

When they all settled in, Dean finally figured out what it was that had been bothering him about Henry's story. "I have a question that's been bugging me. Where do you fit in with all this fairy tale stuff? You said you weren't born here and you had to _go get _your mom."

Henry opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by the sound of the bell on the door. "HENRY!" they heard. The brothers turned their head to see a woman standing in the doorway. She was wearing a very formal business suit, short dark brown hair, and deep red lip stick. Her voice sounded sharp; it was definitely one that Dean didn't want yelling at him.

Henry winced as the woman walked over to their table. "Young man, this has gone far enough! You cannot keep leaving like this, who do you think you – oh, and who are you?" She finally realized her son was not alone.

"Uh, hi," Dean started, giving her a very fake smile. He immediately didn't like her. He'd been doing his job long enough to sense when something was off; she definitely gave him a bad vibe. "I'm Dean and this is my brother Sam. And who are you?"

"I'm Regina Mills – the mayor of this town," she answered threateningly. Sam instantly stiffened at the title mayor, thinking back to the article he'd read. "Why are you with my son?"

"He was sitting on the side of the road, he asked for a ride into town. No big deal," Dean replied cooly.

She looked between the brothers with a stern gaze and back to her son. "Well, he's back safe with his mother. You can get going now. I'm sure our little town isn't the tourist attraction you'd be interested in."

Dean cocked his head to the side and smiled at her, "What's the rush, darling? We haven't even ordered yet. We might stick around for a little bit."

The mayor's eyes narrowed on Dean. "I don't know what you're up to, but I suggest you get in your car and you leave this town. And if I catch you with my son again, I will destroy you. If it's the last thing I do. Goodbye." Regina's heels echoed on the diner floor against the quiet background of the other customers.

"I don't know if this curse thing is our kind of job, Sammy, but I'm getting this overwhelming feeling that we should stick around."

Sam nodded, "I was thinking the same thing."


	4. Chapter 4: The Sheriff

**Sheriff's Station**

Emma had just walked into her office when the phone began to ring. "Sheriff Swan."

"Hello Sheriff," this might have been the first time that Emma was actually relieved to hear the voice on the other line.

"Regina, thank god. Did we find him?"

"_I _found him, Miss Swan. No thanks to you. He was at the diner. There's something I need you to look into, Sheriff." Emma rolled her eyes, growing impatient with all these little assignments Regina kept giving her. "There are two men in town. I don't trust them; I think they're up to no good."

"And I'm supposed to, what? Bring them into the station and interrogate them because you don't trust them? You made me do the same with August and he turned out sane. I think you're losing your touch, Madam Mayor," Emma retorted.

She heard Regina sigh on the other side of the line. "Yes, and like August I have a very good reason for my distrust. They were the ones who _found _my son outside the town line and were with him at Granny's."

Emma's attention was definitely grabbed. Two strangers giving Henry a ride home? That definitely didn't sit well with her. "Ok, who are they?"

"Sam and Dean. They were at Granny's a few minutes ago when I picked Henry up. I want to report a harassment. I trust you'll do your job and do it well. Good day, Miss Swan." Emma heard the click indicating their conversation was over.

_Sam and Dean, _Emma thought, _what are you up to?_

* * *

**Granny's**

Dean moved to the other side of the booth when the very audacious waitress had greeted them, giving them a suggestive look that screamed "you must be a couple".

"We're brothers," Dean explained, giving the waitress a smile.

"Ah, I see. Well I'm Ruby and I'll be your waitress. You guys are new in town, huh?" she turned her attention to Sam. Dean felt a bit insulted, but the way his brother smiled at the attractive brunette made up for it.

Sam laughed, "Yeah. I'm Sam, this is Dean. We noticed you don't get many outsiders around here. Especially the way your mayor there seems to welcome people."

"Madam Mayor can be a bit of a prude. But you're right. In fact, from as far back as I can remember we haven't had any visitors until a few months ago."

"Really?" Sam said, intrigued. "That doesn't strike you as, strange?"

Ruby contemplated this, but shrugged. "We're a small town, barely on the map. I'm not really surprised. You know how things are in small towns. Everyone knows everyone and nothing ever changes."

Sam leaned toward her, trying to make the moment a little more intimate. "But that's the thing, Ruby," he whispered. "This town doesn't show up on any maps. At all."

Ruby looked at Sam and bit her lip. Dean wondered if Ruby was even listening to his brother. He cleared his throat, trying to get her attention. "All this talk of maps and travel has my stomach growling. What do you recommend?"

"Granny makes a mean burger if you're into something hearty. There's also lasagna as the special. And if you're craving something sweet we have the best peach pie."

"Oo!" Dean lit up at the mention of pie.

Sam shook his head at his brother's kryptonite. "I'll just have the chicken salad with water."

"Excellent choice," Ruby praised, giving him an extra long smile.

"Always with the rabbit food, Sammy. I'll have that scrumptious burger you were talking about with a beer. Oh, and a slice of that pie afterwards!"

Ruby collected their menus and made her exit.

"Dude! What'd you interrupt us for?" Sam said to his brother.

Dean shook his head. "Man, she didn't know anything. How exactly are you supposed to react to someone telling you the town you grew up in isn't even on a map? She didn't know how to reply. It was getting tense. Plus the eye sex she was sending your way was just way too much for me to handle. Like really, get a room."

Sam rolled his eyes, but had to agree with Dean. She really had no clue that there was anything strange about how off the radar her town was. "I guess that's one less person we'll need to interrogate. By the way, what's our game plan? Detectives? FBI?"

Dean reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out a random ID. "Dean Anderson, Bail Bonds Man." Dean laughed, remembering the day he'd made this ID. One of his best works. "I'm not sure how that will come into play here but I guess it's sort of law enforcement. Your turn."

They played this kind of game when the gig they were working didn't call for any kind of super intense surveillance. Each brother would reach into their pocket and pull out the first ID they had and use it. Sam sighed and read the name on the ID he grabbed. "Sam Barrie, Private Investigator. But wait, we already told the mayor we were brothers?"

"I don't know, man. We could be step brothers, I guess. Step brothers with different last names. It happens."

Ruby approached with their drinks and meals. She directed her attention toward Sam when she asked if they needed anything else. "I think we're good. Unless Sammy here needs something…" Dean said suggestively.

Sam glared at Dean and then smiled at Ruby, "It all looks great. Thanks, Ruby."

"Anytime," she smiled once more at Sam before leaving.

"Subtle," Sam said to his brother.

Dean dug into his burger, loving every bite of it. "Come on Sammy. Have a little small town fun. She's into you."

"I'm surprised you're not going after her. She is a breathing female. Isn't that your type?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. "I like a girl who's a little bit of a challenge, but forward. You know: tough, a badass."

"Right, like Cassie? Or Jo?"

"Don't start that," Dean warned. The door to the diner opened and the customer caught Dean's attention. "More like her. I call dibs."

Sam turned and made eye contact with the attractive blonde walking to the bar table. "Dude, you can't call dibs on a person. That's not how it works. She's law enforcement though; didn't you notice the badge on her belt?"

"Sammy, I noticed a lot of things about that woman in the 5 seconds I saw her – but what was on her belt wasn't one of them."

Sam scoffed. "Yeah, well good luck man. But you and the fuzz don't mix."

Dean watched from the corner of his eye as the blonde leaned over the counter and talked with Ruby. He noticed Ruby's eyes quickly look at him and his brother – they were talking about them. _Hmm_, he thought. His hunter instincts took over and his senses heightened. He tried to play it cool, but he knew something was up.

His eyes greeted the blonde's when she started walking to their table. "Hello there, beautiful."

She ignored Dean's salutation. "Sam and Dean?"

"Can we help you, officer?" Sam said over his brother's attempt to reply.

She looked between the guys, deciding to give her attention to Sam – the respectable one. "Yes. Seems there are certain residents in this town who've been complaining about harassment," she then turned her attention to Dean, lifting an eye brow.

Dean chuckled, "Yeah, I'm sure in the fifteen minutes we've been in this town we've managed to harass enough people to report us to the cops."

"Sheriff," she corrected.

"_Sheriff_. What, did the mayor tattle on us or something?" Dean asked sarcastically.

He looked at the Sheriff just in time to see the corner of her mouth rise for a second. If he had blinked he would have missed it. _So, the sheriff doesn't like the mayor. Shocking, _he thought.

"You were with Henry. It's natural for a parent to be concerned of their child getting into cars with strangers."

"Ma'am, Henry was sitting on the side of the road outside of the town line," Sam began, deciding to leave out the part about the kid contacting them. "We were only trying to look out for him. In fact, he was the one who asked if we could give him a ride. He doesn't seem too wary of strangers, but we understand the mayors concern. She didn't need to threaten us."

The Sheriff's head cocked to the side and her eye brow rose. Dean noticed this action was similar to one Henry had done earlier. She turned and pulled up a chair to the end of their table, sitting in it backwards. "She threatened you, huh? What'd she say?"

"Well it wasn't your average 'welcome to our town' speech, that's for sure. She told us to get into our car and leave town. And if she caught us with her son again, she would destroy us, if it was the last thing she did," Dean said with a chuckle. He noticed her eyes narrow and her expression harden.

"She threatened me the same way when I first got here. She's a lovely woman, huh? Alright. I believe you," she said, looking into both the brother's eyes as if searching for a reason not to. "But you better watch whose toes you stub while you're here. A lot of people are under the mayor's thumb."

She got up from the chair and pushed it back to its spot. "Wait, when you first got here. How long have you been here?" Sam asked.

"A little less than a year. Listen, I've got to go. Stay out of trouble, or you'll be seeing me again." She turned and walked toward the door. Dean watched her, barely listening to what she was saying. "Oh," she turned around catching his attention, "and if anything happens to Henry and I feel like you both are in any way involved, you'll have to deal with me. And I throw a much harder punch than the mayor – that's a fact." She left without letting them reply.

Dean tried to imagine what she meant by 'that's a fact'. Had she and the mayor been in a physical fight? Oh, he had to stop himself from thinking about that too hard. He smiled, "I like her."


	5. Chapter 5: The Brothers

**The Apartment**

Emma wished she could have seen Henry, but she knew that there was no way that was going to happen tonight. Regina had him, and she was sure after the stunt he pulled she wouldn't be letting him out of her sight.

She sighed, just relieved that he was alright – alright because those guys found him. She did believe them; they hadn't lied to her. And what was up with Regina giving them the same threat she had given her? Did Regina see them as big of a threat as she had her? And if so, why?

She thought back to her trip to Granny's.

* * *

_"Hey Ruby, have you been waiting on those two guys over there?" Emma whispered when she leaned over the counter at the diner. Ruby's eyes looked over to them but Emma called her attention back. "Don't look at them! Just keep looking at me."_

_Ruby looked confused, "Yeah I have. Sam and Dean. Didn't catch their last name. They're brothers, just drove into town. They arrived with Henry, but he looked like he already knew them. The mayor came in not one minute after they sat down and ripped a hole in their ass. I've been talking to them and they seem really nice. Especially the taller one, Sam. Isn't he appetizing?" Emma shook her head and laughed at her friend, wondering how this source for her interrogation had turned into a middle school sleep over. "I call dibs. You already got the other newcomer."_

_Emma looked at the boys out of the corner of her eye. She could only see the back of the "taller one's" head. _So you must be Sam, and you must be Dean, _she thought. She noticed Dean was watching them from the corner of his eye also. Any normal person probably wouldn't have caught it, but she was good at noticing things normal people didn't. Dean was handsome; very handsome actually, almost pretty. Probably used that to get out of quite a few sticky situations._

_She turned her attention back to Ruby, "What? What do you mean I already got the other newcomer?"_

_Ruby gave her her best '_seriously?'_ look. "August. Poor guy hasn't left you alone since he showed up here." Emma shook her head. She had gotten that feeling from August too, but she didn't want to encourage it. He was a friend, nothing more. Besides, he wasn't her type._

_"Whatever Ruby. I'll talk to you later. Gotta go interrogate our guests."_

_Emma walked over to the boys, finally catching a glimpse of Sam, who smiled warmly at her. She looked over at Dean, who gave her a more suggestive smile._

_"Hello beautiful." _Great,_ Emma ignored him._

_"Sam and Dean?"_

_"Can we help you, officer?" Sam asked her. _That's better,_ Emma thought, _I like this one.

_"Yes. Seems there are certain residents in this town who've been complaining about harassment," Emma turned her attention toward Dean. He would be the one more inclined to say something worth complaining about._

_He chuckled, but she could tell it wasn't a real laugh. It was dripping with annoyance and sarcasm. "Yeah, I'm sure in the fifteen minutes we've been in this town we've managed to harass enough people to report us to the cops."_

_"Sheriff," Emma quickly corrected. Regina may have been the mayor, but she was the Sheriff. The face of justice in this town and she was going to make sure these visitors understood that. _

_"_Sheriff_. What, did the mayor tattle on us or something?"_

_Emma could feel the corner of her mouth start to rise in a smile, but she quickly bit her cheek to stop the involuntary muscle. Dean was funny, she had to give him that. But she had to save face. This was an interrogation._

_"You were with Henry. It's natural for a parent to be concerned of their child getting into cars with strangers," Emma decided to go with the heart of the subject._

_Sam took over from there. She could sense that he was the more level-headed one. He seemed more natural at talking about sensitive subjects. Not that she was an expert herself, but she had a job to do. "Ma'am, Henry was sitting on the side of the road outside of the town line. We were only trying to look out for him. In fact, he was the one who asked if we could give him a ride. He doesn't seem too wary of strangers, but we understand the mayors concern." She watched him as he spoke, trying to find some hint that what he was saying held a lie. But it didn't; he was telling her the truth. She felt her entire body relax now that she knew Henry hadn't been in any danger. "She didn't need to threaten us." _

_She cocked her head and rose her eye brow, then noticed Dean giving her a weird look. She reached behind her and pulled up a chair to their table. This part of the conversation wasn't an interrogation, so she could sit eye level with the brothers. "She threatened you, huh? What'd she say?"_

_Dean spoke up, probably tired of his brother getting all the attention. _I bet he's the older brother_, she thought. "Well it wasn't your average 'welcome to our town' speech, that's for sure. She told us to get into our car and leave town. And if she caught us with her son again, she would destroy us, if it was the last thing she did," he ended with a chuckle. She froze, the familiar words resonating through her._

_"She threatened me the same way when I first got here," Emma panicked; she hadn't meant to say that out loud. She quickly tried to recover. "She's a lovely woman, huh? Alright. I believe you. But you better watch whose toes you stub while you're here. A lot of people are under the mayor's thumb."_

_She got up and put the chair back in its rightful spot. Widow Lucas would have her ass if she found out she'd been moving around her furniture. To her dismay, Sam hadn't missed a thing she'd said. "Wait, when you first got here. How long have you been here?"_

_She hesitated. It wasn't that she was embarrassed about being a newcomer to this town. She'd made this her home. She had a job she'd fought hard for, an apartment, a son, and people she cared for like family. This was the closest she'd ever come to having a home. But she felt like she wasn't as respected as a Sheriff like Graham had been. She hadn't been born here. She hadn't grown up with these people. She felt like even after she'd won the election for Sheriff, she was still fighting for the respect she deserved. And she didn't want these visitors thinking that she was on their level._

_"A little less than a year," she answered quickly. "Listen, I've got to go. Stay out of trouble, or you'll be seeing me again." She turned to leave, but she could feel Dean's eyes on her as she walked away. She spun around and caught Dean's attention. "Oh, and if anything happens to Henry and I feel like you both are in any way involved, you'll have to deal with me. And I throw a much harder punch than the mayor – that's a fact." She left without a goodbye, happy with the impression she left._

* * *

Emma focused her attention back to the present, pouring herself a glass of something strong and downing it - it'd been a long day. But at least it wasn't one surrounded by fairy tales.

She heard her jacket's pocket make a static noise. Her walkie-talkie. "Code orange, code orange." She heard the familiar voice of the child who was quickly stealing her heart.

Giddy, she pulled out the talkie and replied. "Code orange? What's code orange?"

"Uh, I don't know yet. But that's what this is. We need to meet and talk, but my mom has me grounded to my room."

"Under house arrest, huh? Probably because you skipped town in the middle of school and hitch-hiked a ride with a couple of strangers. Henry, do you know how dangerous that is? Regina has a right to be upset. I was worried sick myself," Emma let out. She actually hadn't expected herself to get so emotional over the whole thing. But when she started the words just flowed out and she couldn't stop herself. She was just so relieved that her kid was safe.

"But Emma! They weren't strangers! I contacted them, I brought them here."

Emma was stunned. "What do you mean you brought them here, kid? Who are these guys?"

"Sam and Dean. They're here to help with Operation Cobra. This is their job!"

She rose her eye brow and thought it over. "You're telling me it's their job to find towns full of fairy tale characters and break curses? I thought that was my job?"

She heard him huff, obviously annoyed with her lack of understanding. "They hunt evil. Like the evil queen. They're here to help me and you! I found them on the Internet and sent them an email bringing them here."

Emma thought this over. "Now wait a minute. How come they told me that they found you on the side of the road outside of town and they just gave you a lift home?" Had they lied to her? Was her superpower slacking?

"Technically they did. I knew they wouldn't be able to find the town by themselves so I went out there and brought them here. Like I did with you! They probably didn't know you were my mom, so they didn't want to say anything classified. I didn't get the chance to tell them about you and how you fit in with Operation Cobra."

Emma decided this was a good enough explanation. But she wasn't happy about her kid emailing random strangers on the Internet, meeting them, and then bringing them to town. No matter how harmless they seemed to be. "Kid, you know you can't just contact strangers and meet them? That's not safe."

"We don't have time for this! We need to all meet and discuss the operation."

"And that's what code orange is?"

"Exactly! Let's meet at the station. You have to go get Sam and Dean. I'll sneak out. Meet you in an hour!"

"Henry!" But the talkie clicked off before she could talk him out of it. "Man," she said out loud. She took another swig of her drink before she decided to take a quick shower.

When she left the room her phone lit up, announcing she had a new text from August. An urgent text begging her to meet him.


	6. Chapter 6: Connection

**The Apartment**

"Dammit," Emma breathed out, rushing to grab her red jacket from the staircase rail.

Mary Margaret leaned against the back of the kitchen counter, sipping on the hot chocolate she'd just made. "So, where are you going in such a hurry? To see August?" She raised her eye brow and cocked her head suggestively.

Emma had to stop for a second because she realized Henry did that same expression almost perfectly. _Kid's been picking up mannerisms from his teacher, _Emma thought, unaware that she made the same expression herself. "See August? No, why would you say that?" Emma couldn't understand why everyone thought there was something going on with her and August.

"Well," she said in her teacher voice – or did it sound more like a motherly voice? "You two have been spending a lot of time together. I think he's taken quite a shine to you. That, and when I saw him at Granny's he said something about how he was trying to get a hold of you and that you guys had to talk about something important. He seemed pretty flustered."

Emma scrunched her brow. She'd forgotten all about August wanting to talk to her. Something about a big picture. "Umm, no. I haven't talked to him since right before you called me about Henry. Actually that's who I'm in a rush to go see. Apparently my kid decided to contact these two guys on the internet to help with this _curse _thing and he brought them here. That's where he ran off to this afternoon, to meet them outside of town and bring them to Granny's."

"Ahh, I heard we had some visitors and Regina gave them the once over pretty harsh. According to Ruby they're the epitome of the perfect male specimen. She was really excited when they booked a room at the inn. But are you really surprised that Henry would do something like this? We're talking about the same kid who stole my credit card, found his birth mother on the internet, hitch-hiked to Boston, and brought you back here." Mary Margaret: the voice of reason.

Emma laughed, "I don't know where this kid gets his fight against authority thing from." She smiled, thinking about all the suggestive things she'd done in her past; most of which were not legal. _Like mother, like son_, she thought. "Anyway, I'm off to pick up the two strays at the inn and take them to meet Henry at the station. He told me to meet him there in about 30 minutes and then he turned off his talkie before I could object to him sneaking out of the house. I still haven't been able to get a hold of him since then and I don't want him waiting outside the station alone. If I need any back up, I'll call you – so keep your phone close. I may not have anything against these guys, but I still don't trust them. Especially not with my kid."

She started to walk toward the door when Mary Margaret smiled in agreement. "Oh, Ruby wanted me to remind you that she still had dibs on Sam," she said with a giggle.

Emma rolled her eyes and walked out the door.

* * *

**The Inn**

"Dammit," Dean breathed out, throwing his phone on the bed. He tried getting a hold of Cas, but there was no long distance service. "Hurry up in there, Sammy!" he called to his brother who'd been in the shower for about ten minutes. He was getting antsy sitting in the hotel room. It was amazing that this town only had one hotel. _Oh right, _he thought, _no one ever visits. I guess there's no need for more than one hotel in that case_. He laughed to himself; still not entirely believing that what the kid was saying was real. _Magic? _He wasn't convinced. Especially when fairy tale characters were added. He ran his hand through his still damp hair. They were going to check out the town tonight, see if there was anything strange about it.

A knock at the door startled Dean. He threw his knife in his bag and pushed his gun in the back of his pants, then hid anything else that would seem inappropriate. Another knock. "I'm coming," he yelled, wondering if it was that hot waitress looking for Sammy.

He was very surprised when he opened the door to find a certain blonde standing in the hallway. She looked nervous, standing several feet away from the entrance. She had her hands in the pockets of her _very _tight jeans. She wore a bright red leather jacket that Dean instantly found himself liking on her. He never really thought much about women's clothing, but this was definitely a good look on her. Her blonde curls fell down to her chest. She crossed her arms, making him realize just how long he'd been checking her out.

"Why hello, Sheriff. What have we done this time?" Dean asked playfully, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms, mimicking her stance.

She took a breath, "Can I come in? We need to talk." Dean stepped aside and welcomed her in. She'd never been in one of Granny's rooms that offered two beds. It was a lot bigger than the one she'd stayed in. "Dean, right?" He nodded. "Alright Dean, spill. Why did you and your brother _conveniently _leave out the part where Henry found you guys on the internet, told you where to come, met you outside the town, and how you told him you could help him break the curse?"

Dean was caught off guard. He got the impression that Henry wasn't telling people about his fairy tale theory, especially the way he'd clamed up as soon as his mom showed up. He wished Sam had been here at this moment. He cleared his throat, unsure how to answer. "We, uh, I don't really know. Henry said the information was sensitive and I didn't want to get the kid in trouble. We weren't aware that this curse idea was public news."

She studied him as he talked, he noticed. "Ok. That answers that. But how come my kid thought that you and your brother were the answer to his problem? _Who are you?_" she asked sternly, taking a few steps closer to him.

Dean's brow creased, "Your kid? Hold up. I thought he was the mayor's son? Or, uh, are you both -" he gave a suggestive nod.

"No," she cut him off. "I gave Henry up for adoption right after I gave birth. Regina, the mayor, adopted him. Not even a year ago Henry found me; he came and brought me here with some crazy story about the town being cursed and how I'm the savior that's going to save everyone."

"Right, like how all the people here are cartoon characters from his book," Dean replied, getting very interested in what the Sheriff was telling him. Finally the missing pieces of the puzzle were getting filled in. That's what Henry had meant when he said he had to _go get _his mom. He meant his birth mother. _Kid must have been pretty desperate with his home life to go out and find his birth mother_, Dean thought, suddenly starting to feel for the kid. The mayor did seem like a real bitch.

Emma nodded, "Right. I guess he showed you his book. But you still haven't answered the question." She took a few steps closer and narrowed her eyes, standing just a foot in front of him. Dean felt his heart start to beat a little faster. If this had been any other situation, he would have so made a move on her. But he was under the impression that if he even thought about trying she would punch him in the gut. Instead he stared into her cloudy green eyes as she pointed to him. "_Who are you?_"

Dean decided that he wouldn't be needing his fake ID badge. There was no way he could lie to this woman and get away with it. She was good. "I'm Dean Winchester, and I'm with my brother Sam. We're hunters." Her head cocked to the side. "We hunt supernatural beings."

She raised an eye brow, "Right."

"You don't believe me."

She scoffed, "What, I don't believe that a couple of stray dogs think that they hunt monsters and things that go bump in the night?"

"Says the woman who's supposed to save a bunch of magical fairy tale characters from a cursed town," Dean retorted, stepping an inch closer. He wasn't about to let her color him crazy. He was the sane one here.

She faked a smile, "Yeah, but there's a difference between you and me, buddy." She took another step toward him. "I don't believe any of this crap; and you do."

"Woah, hold up. I didn't say I believed in magic or Henry's crazy theory."

"You said you're a ghostbuster!"

"There's a difference. These are _things_. I've seen them; I've fought them. There's always a reason behind the unexplainable stuff. There's always _something_ that's causing it. Whether it be a witch, a demon, or even a damn angel. I don't believe that magic just _appears _for no reason."

The sheriff looked at him, mulling over what he was saying to her. She took one step closer, a breath closer and she'd been right up against him. "Then why does _my son _think that you do? Why are you still here?"

Dean could feel the electricity between them. "While I may not be convinced that what your son is saying is true – there is something strange about this town. Something off-putting. And this kid seems to be the only person making noise about it. Now, you may be a skeptic to my job, but I've been doing it long enough to listen to a feeling like this," Dean said softly.

They stood there in silence for a few seconds. He could tell she was really thinking over what all he was saying to her. Either his imagination was running wild, or he felt like there was definitely a connection between the two of them. He felt a draw towards her and she intrigued every fiber of his being. He sensed something in her; something he recognized deep in himself. She nodded her head. "Fine."

The door to the bathroom opened. The Sheriff and Dean both jumped, breaking their eye contact. Dean had been holding his breath, which was strange for him. He found himself really hoping that this woman was starting to believe him, but he doubted it. In fact, he guessed she was just playing along for her son's sake.

Sam ducked back into the bathroom when he saw the Sheriff was standing in his room. She cleared her throat. "Listen, I hate to kind of drag you out of your domain here, but I'm going to need you both to come with me to the station."

Dean looked at her, wondering why it sounded like he was getting arrested, "You said we just needed to talk?"

"We did. But Henry has asked us to meet him at the station. We've got about ten minutes to get down there. I'll, um, step outside so your brother can get changed. Don't take too long."

Emma opened the door and walked through. "Wait," Dean said, closing the door behind them enough so that Sam could have some privacy. "What's your name, anyway? I mean, unless you want me to keep referring to you as Sheriff."

She gave him a smile that still didn't feel completely real. He had a feeling he wouldn't get a genuine smile until he earned it. Which he was planning to do. "Emma. Emma Swan."


	7. Chapter 7: Code Orange

**The Inn**

"Emma, wait up!" Dean called out to her as she started down the stairway. She turned around giving him a questionable look. "Um, mind if I catch a ride with you to the station? Sam isn't finished, uh, freshening himself up. He's going to meet us down there when he gets done. I think he wanted to catch a bite to-go, also."

Emma gave him an odd look, not sure if she was buying his story. But she decided to go with it, and nodded for him to follow her. Sam was the one she was less wary about; she wasn't sure why, but there was something about him that she felt she could trust. Dean, on the other hand, she was going to keep her eye on. Especially after his crazy talk about hunting monsters. _Please don't tell me he's going to be another Jefferson. I can't deal with more than one crazy hostage escape incident, _she'd thought when he was going on about his 'job'.

There was something else besides the hunter thing that was giving her a funny feeling about this guy. Especially the way the air had filled with electricity when they were having their stare-off before Sam interrupted them. She felt a strange draw towards him that scared the living shit out of her. She didn't know much about this guy, but deep down she felt some kind of connection towards him. _Hopefully, _she thought, _he won't stick around long enough for me to find out. _

It wasn't that Emma was a nun or anything. Like she'd mentioned to Mary Margaret all those months ago, one night stands were as far as she'd ever let it get. And that's how she liked it. Just look at the one time she decided to start letting down her guard with Graham. _Graham, _she thought, her entire demeanor dropping. She tried not to think about him too much. That's what she got for letting someone get that close for the first time in 10 years. Granted, it wasn't his fault. And Mary Margaret had tried to remind her of that the first couple weeks when she found Emma drinking her pain away in the middle of the night. He wasn't perfect, but he was sweet and caring and he gave her something no one had offered her in quite some time: roots. And he had chosen her, something else that was all too foreign in her life. Graham: her short lived chance of happiness with someone worth-while.

She felt a single tear roll down her cheek before she got the chance to build up the much practiced levee. "Emma?" Dean was sharp; he didn't let much go unnoticed. Something they had in common.

She dropped her head and wiped away the evidence from her cheek before she looked up at him, eye brows raised in question. He seemed to understand her guard, nodding his head down in his own question; an unspoken desire to know if she were alright. She gave him a half smile and nodded. This seemed sufficient enough, because he dropped any further questioning. She appreciated that.

When they finally made it outside Dean went straight to a black '67 Impala. "Is that yours?" she asked.

His smile widened as he stroked the roof of his car, "Yes ma'am, my pride and joy. I've just gotta get a bag out from the back seat." He opened the door and leaned in. She caught herself watching him bend over. She had to give him one thing: he looked _very _nice in those old jeans. Her focus snapped back when he pulled out and slammed the door shut carrying a bag and a book. "The kid left his book in the back seat earlier. I guess to ensure we wouldn't leave without seeing him again. Sneaky bastard."

She couldn't contain the wide smile as she thought back to the same move he'd made when he brought her here. Kid had moves.

"I parked over here," she said, walking towards her yellow bug. She looked back at him when she approached her car, seeing the creased brow and look of '_seriously?' _on his face. "Hey! Don't you dare say anything about my Baby. This ole girl has been my constant for the last decade and I will not allow anyone to judge her." She pointed her finger in motherly fashion at the smirking Dean.

He held up his hands in surrender, "I get it, I get it. I just think this is the first time I've ever been in a bug before. Can I even fit?"

Her eye brow rose and she couldn't help the suggestive smile that formed on her lips. Understanding her, his face dropped and he chuckled nervously, ducking in the front seat of her car.

When they buckled up Emma paused and turned to Dean, "You said something before about angels. Seriously?"

"Yeah, trust me. They're a bunch of douche bags."

* * *

**The Station**

"Hey kid," Dean called out when he crawled his way out of Emma's bug. Henry, who had been sitting in front of the station doors, jumped up when the two adults walked over towards him.

"Dean! You came!" Henry ran up to him and looked up at him with proud eyes. For a moment, Dean felt touched and warmed by the thought of this kid he'd grown fond of being excited by his presence. "But where's Sam?"

"Nothing gets by you, huh? He was just getting out of the shower when we left. We were a bit blind-sided by this last minute call to order here. He'll meet us shortly. Your mom here basically threatened me to come so I didn't disappoint you," Dean teased.

Henry looked between his mother and Dean. "So you filled him in," Henry directed to Emma, obviously catching Dean's use of the title 'mom'.

"Yeah, what's that about anyway?" Emma asked while unlocking the doors. "Aren't you too young to start being embarrassed of your mother?"

Dean chuckled at their play, following the duo into the station. "I didn't have time to explain everything. That's what tonight is for!"

Dean looked around the small sheriff station, letting out a low whistle. "You know, I've been in quite a few stations in my time," Emma gave him her signature question look, raising her eye brow. "Uh, I mean, you know –anyway. This is definitely the most Mayberry prison I've ever been in. Two cells, a back room, and two desks right in the open." He chuckled, "I wouldn't be surprised if you have a town drunk you release as long as he promises good behavior."

Emma smiled at this – very close to a genuine smile, Dean noticed. "Actually," Henry piped up, "his name is Leroy. And he's a lot more grumpier."

"It's true," Emma reassured.

"Ok, so let's get started!" Henry said, excited. Emma and Dean sat next to each other on one side of the desk while Henry sat on the other. There was an empty chair next to him for Sam, Dean guessed. "What all has Emma filled you in on?"

"The mayor adopted you, then 10 years later you went out and found Emma. You brought her back here to help you break the curse. That's it," Dean answered, ready for some more pieces to be filled in.

Henry put the book on the desk. "Ok, that's not a lot. You're going to need to read through this book so you'll understand the history. But the most important piece of information is Emma."

Dean looked over at Henry's mother, who had her arm keeping her head up on the desk. "Right, which cartoon character are you? Goldilocks?" he said with a chuckle.

She glared at him. "No," Henry answered for her. "She's the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming."

Dean was shocked at this. _Wow, _he thought, _pretty impressive. She's definitely got the fairest thing down. _

"The Evil Queen hates Snow White and created the curse to get rid of her and everyone else's happy ending."

"Now, wait. Who here is Snow White and the Evil Queen?" Dean asked.

"Snow White is Mary Margaret, my roommate and Henry's teacher," Emma sighed.

"And the Evil Queen is my mom. Well, Regina," Henry finished.

Dean was shocked, "So wait a minute. You're living with your mother, and your kid got adopted by the Evil Queen? Ironic."

Emma rolled her eyes. Henry spoke up again, "exactly. Now, the curse brought everyone here. They took away their memories and gave them new identities. It put some kind of bubble around the town so that it's pretty much invisible, that's why no one ever visited or left. Time was frozen for 28 years – until Emma came."

"Right," Dean began, "and why is that?" He still didn't understand what the big deal was about Snow White's kid.

"She's the savior. See, when word got out on the Evil Queen's plan, Snow White and Prince Charming went to the darkest magical creature in the world, Rumplestilskin. He could predict the future. He told them that the baby Snow White was pregnant with was the key to breaking the curse. So Geppetto built a wardrobe out of a magical tree that the blue fairy had enchanted so that the baby could travel to our world, getting her to safety. And on her 28th year she would find the town and break the curse," Henry finished, sitting back in his chair happy with his explanation.

Dean thought this over. "Ok, and how is she supposed to do that?"

"That's why you're here!" Henry answered.

"Wait a minute, I have something to ask _you_, young man," Emma spoke up. Dean noticed she'd been pretty quiet during Henry's whole speech. He guessed she didn't believe anything of this. "Dean tells me that he's a hunter of the supernatural," Dean noticed that she said it like she didn't believe it also. She was going to need _a lot _of convincing. He pulled out his phone and dialed. "How did you even come across him?"

Henry shrunk in his chair a little under his mother's tone. "I was looking up information about curses! I found this website about these guys who fought ghosts and stuff. They looked kind of cheesy actually; I didn't take them seriously. But a few times they would talk about these Sam and Dean Winchester guys and how they taught them most of their stuff. The way they talked about you guys was kind of rude, but I got the sense that you two were the real deal. So I sent them an email. And a few weeks later Sam got in touch with me, offering to help!"

Dean was listening while the phone's connection was pushing through the weak service. Finally, he heard a voice on the other line. "_Dean. Finally, where are you?"_

"Storybrooke, Maine. I'll text you the coordinates -"

Emma gasped and sprung up from her chair, standing in front of Henry in defense. Dean turned around and smiled at the familiar face. "Cas, finally. I've been trying to get a hold of you for days."

"How did you get here?" the angel asked, looking around the station. "This area has been lost to us for decades. It's certainly been an enigma." He started to walk around, investigating in a very Castiel fashion.

"Really?" Dean asked, growing more intrigued with this case the more he learned.

Cas nodded. When his eyes finally landed on Emma he stopped, cocking his head and inspecting her. "Hmm. Interesting."

Emma's eye brows rose, "Excuse me? Umm, Dean. Please explain the sudden appearance of your friend here."

"Well, remember when you asked me about angels?" he gestured toward Cas. "Here you go. A real life angel."

"You said they were douche bags."

Cas looked at Dean with squinty eyes, obviously insulted. "Most of them. Cas here is one of us. He's sort of a free-lance celestial being."

"Is he your guardian angel?" Henry asked, making his way from behind Emma to check out their new guest.

Cas studied the boy, "I did raise Dean from perdition and I have done a great deal of guarding."

Emma looked over to Dean. "He raised you from _Hell_?" she asked in disbelief.

Dean looked down at the floor, biting his lip. "Uh, kind of," he cleared his throat. "Anyway. Cas. You're just in time. Henry here was just filling us in on code orange."

"What does citrus have to do with -"

"No, no, Cas. It's just a title the kid came up with." Dean interrupted.

Emma couldn't take it anymore; she slammed her fist on the desk, gaining everyone's attention. "Everyone just _stop! _A man just freakin' _appears _out of _nowhere_ and you expect me to believe he's some kind of _angel_? We were pushing it when it was just fairy tale characters; now you're throwing angels and ghosts in the pile of clusterfu-" she restrained from finishing the swear word when she remembered her son was in the room.

"Emma Swan," Cas said calmly, "so powerful. You are a very rare specimen."

"What the _hell _are you talking about, halo boy?" Emma said defensively.

Dean took a step towards Emma, putting a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. He felt her shoulders drop temporarily, but it only lasted for a second before they tensed and she stepped away.

"You guys are crazy. _This _is crazy! And I will not stand for any more of it. Henry," she said, grabbing her son's bag and hand, making her way to the door. "I'm taking you home. We're _done _here."


	8. Chapter 8: An Angel of the Lord

**The Station**

"Dean, what happened?" Sam asked, meeting Dean and Castiel by the entrance to the sheriff station. He was carrying Henry's book and a police walkie-talkie. "Emma just stormed past me dragging Henry behind her. He broke free and ran over to me, giving me these. He said to read through the book and keep this on in case he wanted to get a hold of us."

Dean reached over, picking up the machine, "A walkie-talkie? Man, that's awesome! This kid is the coolest. Hey Sammy, maybe we should get these!"

"Dean, concentrate! What happened? And where did Cas come from?"

"I called him to try to convince Emma that our job was real. But, uh, she kind of freaked out when Cas showed up in his angel-y fashion. She still doesn't believe me about what we do and she definitely doesn't believe Henry's fairy tale stuff. I mean, I can't say I really blame her. It's pretty farfetched, even for us," Dean explained.

"It's true," Cas spoke up. "This entire town is full of latent magic. Magic that isn't found in this world."

"Magic, Cas? Really?" Dean asked, still disliking the taste of the word in his mouth.

"Where do you think some of the stuff you hunt comes from, Dean? There are many other universes out there, pressing up against each other. Some have magic and some don't. And sometimes, on very rare occasions, magic seeps through that thin line and ends up here. _This_ magic, though, was brought here. It had to have been a very powerful curse created by a very powerful creature. Emma definitely wasn't born in this world; she's _very _powerful and full of untapped magic. I don't think she even realizes it. It might explain why she's rejecting the entire idea of magic," Cas stated, looking around at his surroundings as he did so. "If what the boy was saying is correct, Emma definitely has the power to break the curse. She has a destiny."

Dean tensed at the last statement. He and Sam knew all too well about destinies. "How is she supposed to break the curse?"

"Henry thinks the first step is to get her to believe in magic. At least, that's what August said," Sam answered, finally speaking up.

Dean spun around and raised an eye brow, "Who?"

"August. That's why I was running so late. On my way out of the hotel room this guy cut me off and said he knew I was going to meet up with Emma. He was very defensive when he asked what business we had with her. I told him that we were helping her and her kid out with some problem. He asked if it was about the curse. I didn't answer him right away, asking what he meant," Sam paused. "Get this. The guy is Pinocchio. Turns out that when he was like 7 years old he went through the portal with the task of helping Emma break the curse. But they both wound up in the foster care system and got separated. He said he tried to keep an eye on her and stuff, but 'the desires this world offers were too overwhelming' – or something. Dude is a super drama queen. I could barely take him seriously."

Dean thought this over. _What scum_, he thought. _If he was supposed to take care of Emma and help her with her curse he sure did a crap job. _"So how can we believe him?"

"Well, that's what I was thinking. But then he showed me his leg. Dean. It's completely wooden. And it's not like just a prosthetic wooden leg either, I mean he showed me where the wood met the skin and everything," Sam explained convincingly. "She doesn't know who he is though. He said he was going to tell her tonight, and try to get her to believe. But we were getting in his way."

"What a dick," Dean breathed. He didn't know why, but he didn't like anyone who would abandon someone like that. Especially someone like Emma. He paused, since when did he care this much about people he'd just met? He'd known Emma for what? A day? And yet he felt more of a connection to her than he had with anyone in years. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. "She's not going to believe him. There's gotta be something more we can do. Cas, do you think there's any way you can help in getting her to believe? At least a little?"

Cas disappeared.

"Son of a bitch," Dean said under his breath.

* * *

**The Apartment**

Emma sat on the kitchen bar stool nursing on her glass of whiskey. Mary Margaret had gone out against her will at Ruby's request. Widow Lucas had volunteered to watch the baby tonight, so Ashley, Ruby and Mary Margaret all went out for drinks and a movie in celebration of girls night. Emma declined the offer; drinking alone was more of her style anyway. Plus, she was spent from the long day.

"Hello Emma."

Emma jumped and spun around, knocking her glass to the ground and shattering it. She pulled her gun from her back pocket and aimed it at the intruder. "You," she whispered when she recognized Castiel. "Listen halo boy, I don't know how you're doing this – I don't know what trick you're pulling. But you are breaking and entering into _my _home. Give me one good reason I'm not blowing a hole in your foot and throwing your ass in jail. And don't even think of pulling that angel crap because I'm _not _buying it."

He looked down, an odd smile forming on his lips. As if he were recalling a fond memory. "Your threat would throw me off; but I've been around Dean long enough to understand it. You two are a lot alike."

"That's not what I asked. _Why _and _how _are you here?" she said more aggressively. She tried not to think about what he'd said, but it latched on to the back of her mind like a leech.

"I am an angel, Emma."

"Oh, yeah? Prove it," Emma dared.

Castiel frowned, then looked down taking a deep breath. When he looked at her, the lights in her apartment started to flash. Her electronics fritzed and her bulbs blew. Her windows filled with light from outside: lightning. A second later thunder shook every window, followed by even more lightning. By now she'd already dropped her arms to the side, trying to figure out what was going on. When she looked back at Castiel, her mouth dropped and she fell to the floor.

The lightning behind her created a shadow behind Cas's body; but not just his body. Two gigantic shadows in the shape of wings coming from his profile covered the back wall of her apartment. They stretched and fluttered a little.

Castiel closed his eyes and lifted his head. The storm outside ceased and what lights that weren't blown out flashed back on, along with her other electronics. She noticed he was looking down at his feet, almost as if he were ashamed of himself.

"I'm sorry. I know that can be a bit frightening for some people; I don't want to frighten you," he said calmly.

Emma couldn't find her words. She was in shock. She had to be seeing things. She _had _to. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and her throat was dry.

"I thought this would help you believe. Dean asked me to help. I'll just -" And he was gone. Disappeared right in front of her eyes.

An _angel. _An actual angel. So, Dean was telling the truth.

Suddenly there was a knock at her door. She jumped, realizing she hadn't moved from her spot on the ground since that… that angel was here. She got off the floor and found her balance, wondering who it was now. _If this is August telling me he wants to show me some kind of freakin' big picture I'm going to lose my mind, _she thought, walking to the door and opening it.

Her mouth dropped for the second time that night in surprise.

"Dean?"


	9. Chapter 9: Measuring Contest

**The Apartment**

"Emma," Dean said cautiously. She looked surprised to see him; he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Her face was pale and her eyes were wide. He also noticed that she was trying to slow her breathing. "Are you ok?"

She nodded.

Dean could tell that she wasn't going to say anything else. So he went on with what he came here for. "I just, uh, I wanted to warn you that Cas may have misinterpreted me earlier and he might be stopping by here -" he looked past her into her apartment. Half of the lights were blown, there was a shattered glass on the floor, and a gun was sitting on the ground. "Son of a bitch," he breathed. "He was here, wasn't he?"

She nodded, again.

"Damn it. What did he do? Are you ok, really?" he suddenly became very concerned about Emma. He knew Cas wouldn't do anything to hurt her, but he had to make sure. If he had learned anything from this fearless woman, it was that she would not go down without a fight. Shoot first, ask questions later.

Her shoulders relaxed and she let out a deep, and much needed, sigh. "Yeah, really I am fine. Here, come in," she invited, stepping aside for him to enter. She closed the door behind him as he did a quick scan of her apartment. It wasn't that he thought anything dangerous was there, per say, it was just his natural instinct. "Yes, he was here. Did his whole appear out of nowhere trick and left the same way. That's it," she said, avoid his gaze.

He knew she wasn't telling the truth. "Emma," he said, trying to get her attention. When she finally looked at him, that electricity that had been between them in his hotel room rose again. _Concentrate, _he thought. "Tell me what happened."

She shook her head. "It's impossible," she whispered. "I saw – or I thought I saw. No. It's crazy. I'm crazy."

He stepped toward her. He slowly reached for her hands. She resisted at the first contact, but allowed him to gently wrap his hands around hers and give her a squeeze of encouragement. "You're not crazy. Neither of us are. What we see – what we've seen is real."

"He had wings! That weren't even there! He made the entire place blow out and made it lightning outside! And suddenly – I can't even believe I'm saying this," she took a deep breath, letting go of his hands and running her fingers through her hair, pacing across the room in front of him. "There were two shadows of gigantic wings coming from his body, stretching out. Then the storm stopped, the lights came back on, and he just disappeared!"

Dean nodded, listening intently. He remembered the first time he'd witnessed Cas's wing-show. He thought he'd seen everything up until that point. But, man, did that sure leave him speechless. "I believe you. I've seen them too. Here, let me help you clean up this place."

He made his way over to the shattered glass and spilt whiskey. He smirked at the choice of drink; of course this would be her choice after a day like today. He used a paper towel to soak up the liquid and pushed the glass into a pile for him to sweep up. He noticed Emma had started to clean the glass from a few of the blown bulbs around the room.

"So," she broke the silence first, "_angels_."

He chuckled, "I warned you – they can be real douches sometimes."

"So you were telling the truth," she stated. This time there was no question in her tone. She believed him. _Maybe Cas was on to something here, _Dean thought. "And that means that you really do hunt monsters and ghosts and stuff? They actually exist?" He nodded and gave an audible 'mmhmm'. "Are there a lot of angels? Like your friend, that is. Just walking around with hunters, wearing trench coats?"

She walked into the kitchen and pulled out two glasses. She held up her bottle of whiskey to Dean, silently asking if he wanted any. He nodded, making his way to sit on the bar stool. "The trench coat is just Cas's thing," he laughed. "And before recently, I can't say. To be completely honest, if you had asked me a year and a half ago if there were such things as angels, I would have laughed in your face. Even with the job that I do and the things that I've seen."

She slid him the glass and made her way to sit in the seat next to him. "So what happened a year and a half ago?"

He took a swig and looked down at his glass. "It's kind of a long, ridiculous story."

"Try me," she replied.

"I died."

She rose her eye brows and gave him the once over. "That's not a very long story. And it sounds like you're missing a few details."

He cleared his throat. "Backstory: When my brother was 6 months old, a demon killed our mother. From then on my dad was determined to find the thing that'd done it. So my dad, brother, and I traveled the country; fighting supernatural creatures, answering distress calls from people who needed our help. It kind of turned into a family business. Sam, on the other hand, wanted out. I was, uh," he took another swig of his drink, letting out a painful laugh, "I was already doomed to this life. I had nothing else. Hell, I wasn't good at anything else. Sammy – Sammy was smart. He went to college, prelaw. In fact, he'd still be there if it wasn't for me."

Emma was watching him as he spoke; he could feel her eyes on him. She kept quiet, letting him go on with his story.

"Four and a half years ago, our dad went missing. I couldn't find him by myself – well, I didn't _want_ to find him by myself. So I called on my brother for help. Just one job. That's all he was supposed to be gone for. But when he went back to his place – his life – he found his girlfriend dead. The same way our mom had died. So he drove off with me; determined to find the thing that killed her and our mother. One year later, we found it. A demon, bent on using kids like my brother for his own demon war. My dad died then in an exchange for my life. A year later, I shot the bastard in the head with a gun that could kill anything. Sammy, uh, he didn't make it: stabbed in the back by some psycho-army nut job. I couldn't – I couldn't go on without him. He was the only thing I had; he was my brother. I'd looked over him my entire life, and I was not about to let him down then. So, I sold my soul to a crossroads demon in exchange for his life. I got a year to live. When my time was up, I was sent to Hell. Emma, I was dead for four months."

He finally looked up at Emma when he said her name. She finished off her drink. "And that angel. That's what he meant when he said he raised you from Hell. He was being literal."

Dean took off his jacket and lifted up the sleeve of his shirt, revealing the hand print mark on his left shoulder. "I had to crawl out of my own grave," he chuckled.

Emma reached out to him, silently asking if she could touch his shoulder. He shrugged, leaning in closer so she could reach. He felt her warm fingers trace the raised skin, mapping out the red skin.

"It was Castiel who pulled me out. He was the first angel I'd ever met," he whispered, thinking about all the things he'd been through with Cas since then. Cas had proven his loyalty to him and his brother many times. He thought of him as one of his own family members, like Bobby and Ellen.

Emma covered the print with her own, smaller, hand. He felt the warmth radiating from it into his skin. "Unbelievable," she breathed. He looked at her surprised – how could she not believe after all of this? After he'd just spilled his whole life story to her? Her eyes shot to his own when she felt him tense at her word. "No, I mean. I believe you. It's just – I don't even know what to think. And I thought I had a shit life."

He gave her a strange look, unsure of what she meant. From where he was standing, she seemed to have a pretty great life. A respectful job, a nice apartment, a new-found kid whom she obviously cared for. Aside from her son trying to make her believe in a cursed town full of fairy tales, he didn't see the problem.

She refilled her empty glass, then offered him some more. When he accepted she finally continued. "Well, I guess since you opened up I guess it's my turn. I, uh, I was abandoned. When I was a baby I was found on the side of the road not far from here. Some kid found me. I was put in foster care. I had a family, but when I was three they had their own kid and, um, sent me back. I snuck out of the system and lived on my own when I was 16. At 17 I met this guy. I kind of stole a car that he had already stolen. He taught me a few things; things I'm not exactly proud of."

Dean thought about Emma living a life of crime. He immediately didn't like it. Dean: the guy who perfected credit card fraud at the age of 14 and learned to steal a car before he was old enough to legally drive one. He was definitely in no position to throw stones at someone for petty theft. But to think of this hell of a woman reducing herself to that life style – it pained him.

"This guy and I were going to run away together, start a fresh life somewhere and start over. But an old high-end crime he'd committed resurfaced. He stole a bunch of expensive watches and hid them in a locker. To avoid someone recognizing him, I went and retrieved the loot. After I gave them to him, we agreed to meet up that night after he sold them so we could leave." She paused, taking a very large drink of her whiskey, finishing the glass before pouring more. "Instead of him meeting me at the rendezvous point, I was met by a cop arresting me for being an accessory to theft."

"He set you up?" Dean asked, not believing what he was hearing. She took another gulp and nodded. "Rat bastard." He couldn't believe this guy. If he ever met him he would sock him right in the jaw.

She chuckled, "Tell me about it. I was sentenced to 11 months in jail because I was a minor and an accomplice."

"And that's when you found out you were pregnant?" Emma shot her head in Dean's direction, surprised at this piece of information she hadn't mentioned. "I, uh, I did the math. You're 28, Henry's 10."

Emma relaxed and gave a fake smile, "Right. Um, yeah. That's why I gave him up for adoption. I couldn't be a mother. Not then. I had to give him his best chance – and that wasn't with me. And every day since Henry showed up at my apartment door in Boston I've had to deal with the what-ifs. But I can't focus on that, because it's a waste of time. I wouldn't trade who my son has grown to be for anything. And as much as I hate that woman, I have to thank Regina for raising my son; no matter how difficult that is for me."

Dean smiled, thinking about Henry. "He's an awesome kid. Head strong and fearless; smart as a whip. I don't think that's something he learned from the mayor. I think it's in his genes."

Emma smiled. Dean couldn't believe it. Emma gave him a genuine smile – and she was beautiful. "I'd like to believe that. But I think that kid has a personality all of his own. He worms his way under your skin and you just can't leave until you know he's going to be ok."

Dean thought on this; she was right. The kid had gotten to him. Hell, that's why he was still in this town. Before he hadn't believed much about this fairy tale stuff, but he wanted to help the kid. He wanted the kid to know he was safe – and ultimately that was why he offered to help. But it was more than just Henry. He felt the same way about Emma; she had the same affect on him. She'd wormed her way under his skin. "I think that's definitely in the genes," he whispered into his glass.

He noticed her look at him questionably, unsure of what he meant. Then she got it, but chose to take a drink from her glass in reply. She cleared her throat, "I just hope that I'm making the right decision, with the custody battle and all. And if I'm prepared to be a mother 24/7, for the rest of my life. It's a scary thought."

Dean nodded. Thinking back to when he met Ben, Lisa's son. For those couple of days he could have sworn the boy was his offspring and he remembered staying up at night thinking about what he would do if it were true. Would he have been ready to be a dad? _Could he _be a dad? "I can't even imagine," he lied.

She looked at him, "Have you ever gotten close to that kind of life? Normal job, marriage, kids?"

He thought about Lisa and Ben. When he thought about that fairy tale life, he thought about them. He was offered the chance before, and he turned it down knowing it was hopeless. "Once. But I could never live that apple-pie life. It's not in the cards for me. That's the thing about being a hunter; you never really stop. It's too dangerous, for you and your loved ones. There's no way to escape."

Emma shook her head. "That's bull shit." Dean raised an eye brow. "I'm sorry, but that's just such an archaic attitude. Aren't there girl hunters?" He thought about Jo and Ellen, nodding yes. "See. You just have to find someone worth fighting extra hard for; who you can depend on to fight for you. And most importantly: someone who will fight next to you."

"Like Snow White and Prince Charming?" Dean asked, smiling at his joke.

Emma rolled her eyes and let out a loud sigh. "And we were doing so well not talking about the fairy tales. I'm trying to be responsible for and take care of my son; that's all I can handle right now. There's no way I can be responsible for an entire town that may or may not contain my parents in it. Screw destiny." Dean flinched at the word destiny, again. Emma didn't let it go unnoticed. "Did I offend you?"

Dean finished his glass, pouring more. "No," he chuckled. "I just agree with you. Screw destiny."

"What, you wanna compare destinies? Is this a measuring contest or something? We've already compared backgrounds. "

"Which you totally won, by the way," Dean raised his glass to her, then took a drink.

"Seriously? You spent your entire life surrounded by things trying to _kill_ you."

"That's true. But I always had Sammy. No matter how often we fought; we were always there for each other. I couldn't imagine going through life alone."

She finished her glass, pouring more. "Yeah, you're right. I win." She raised her glass to him and he chuckled. "Now try to top being responsible for saving an entire town full of fairy tale characters from the curse of an evil queen."

He laughed, trying to decide whether he should try to sugar coat it or not. _Screw it. _"I'm supposed to be Michael the archangel's meat-suit, my brother is supposed to be Lucifer the devil's meat-suit, and then they're going to start the apocalypse until one of us kills the other."

Emma's mouth dropped. "Wow. Uhm. Well, you win this one." Dean smirked. Emma raised her glass, "To screwing destiny."

Dean raised his glass to the toast and tapped her glass, "To screwing destiny."

* * *

**Hey guys! I noticed that I've gotten some reviews and I thought I would take this opportunity to acknowledge and reply to you lovely people! Also, thank you for reading! The minute I put the connection between Emma Swan from OUAT and Dean Winchester from SPN I just _had _to write a story with them. Spoiler: the next chapter might get heated between the two characters, so you may expect a ratings change. It wont be distasteful, I promise! **

**"xxxJusta1991xxx: Great story! Love it! :))" Thank you! :) I noticed from your profile you're a Captain Swan fan, as am I. Fingers crossed for next season!**

**"wailsofangels: keep going!" I don't intend to stop! ;) **

**"Dede42: I'm hooked and I can't wait for the next chapter. Update soon!" & "Hopefully that'll get Emma in believing SOMETHING, but Cas up and disappearing before finishing his sentence has me worry. Update soon!" Hmmm, who knows! Cas does have a way of leaving without explanation, but _maybe_ something happened to him. We'll see. ;) I'm glad you're enjoying it though and I appreciate your comments! **

**"Dimmitri Darkson Makros: This is really good. Please update soon." Thank you! I'm glad you like it. :) **


	10. Chapter 10: Answering the Call

**Granny's**

Sam didn't know what to make of the scene at the station. Dean had filled him in on the basics. About how Emma was the daughter of Snow White and she was sent to this world as a baby to break the curse and save everyone. _Heavy_, he'd thought. Dean had shoved the book back to him along with the talkie. He was worried about where Cas had flown off to, he had a hunch it was to Emma.

_"I'm going to go by her place and check on her. The worst she can do is kick my ass out of there. Might as well try to talk to her," Dean said with a shrug, throwing Sam his keys. _

_"How do you know where she lives?" Sam asked. _

_Dean started walking down the side walk, shrugging his shoulders, "I'll figure it out." _

_"Wait, what am I supposed to do with this?" Sam asked, holding up the storybook. _

_"Read it. The kid was right; it's about the town's history. Focus on Snow White, Prince Charming, the Evil Queen, and some guy named Rumplestilskin." Sam's eye brows creased in question. "Yeah, I think he has a big part in this whole mess. He's sketchy." _

_"Ok, I'll head to the inn and check it out," they both turned and walked their separate ways. Sam stopped, "Hey Dean, who'd the Evil Queen turn out to be?" _

_"Regina, the bitchy mayor," Dean called back. _

_Sam laughed, of course. He'd had a gut feeling she was a part of this whole thing whenever he met her. The fact that she was the Evil Queen, well, he wasn't surprised. _

Now he was sitting in a back booth at Granny's diner skimming through the book. He'd already gotten through Snow White's story; it was a lot different than the one he remembered. A lot less cannibalism, thankfully. He wondered who the Huntsman was in the town; he hadn't seen anyone who looked like the picture yet. He hadn't met everyone in town though, he kept reminding himself. The fact that Snow White was a kick-ass bandit also threw Sam for a loop; and the fact that she and Prince Charming hadn't hit it off in the beginning.

He read on to the Evil Queen's story. Man, her mom was a real bitch. _Regina pushed her through a looking glass? Hmm, wonder if that means she's in Wonderland_, he thought, trying to think back to all the stories and lore he knew. He'd always been really interested in the classic Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Anderson versions of fairy tales when he was younger. With the way he grew up, it was only natural for his reading taste to steer toward those dark, psycho stories. He'd also really enjoyed Lewis Carroll's _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ and J.M. Barrie's _Peter Pan_. He'd always hid these books from Dean and his dad, knowing they wouldn't approve.

He got to Rumplestilskin's part just as Ruby approached the booth, "Isn't that Henry's?"

Sam looked up and gave her a smile. "Yeah, the kid loaned it to me."

"Interested in fairy tales?" she asked, cautiously taking a seat across from him. The diner was nearly empty.

Sam chuckled, "What's not to like? Revenge, scandal, fight scenes, love – magic."

She seemed pleased with this answer. Sam started to wonder who her fairy tale counterpart was. "Where's your brother?"

"He's doing his own thing tonight," Sam answered discreetly. If he had said _Going to Emma's_, it would probably start gossip in the small town. "He'll probably roll in sometime between midnight and 5 am."

"Maybe we'll see him at the Rabbit Hole," she replied. "My shift ends in a few minutes and a couple of girlfriends and I were going to hang out for a bit. Would you like to join us? We promise not to talk about hair and nails all night."

Sam laughed, giving her a smile. "I appreciate the invitation, I really do. I'm just not really up for it tonight."

"Not like you're up for reading _fairy tales_?" she asked facetiously.

"Right. It's just not my thing, really."

"Well," she said, standing up, "maybe while you're still in town I'll get to figure out what exactly that is."

Sam smiled as she walked away; this girl was intense. She wasn't the type he usually found himself attracted to. Those type of girls were usually a little more sheltered. Less audacious, party girl; more independent and self-aware. But he couldn't even entertain the notion. He was here for a job. And besides, relationships didn't end well for him. He always ended up with the monsters.

Though Ruby seemed far from the beastly type.

"Her bark is worse than her bite," he jumped at the voice behind him. He turned around to find the elderly woman who usually stood behind the bar. "My granddaughter means well."

Sam laughed, "Oh, I've been barked at a lot worse. She's a bit intense; but nice." Sam smiled at the older woman. He held out his hand, "I'm Sam, by the way."

"I'm Ms. Lucas. But the residents here have taken to calling me Granny. You and your _brother?_" Sam nodded, "checked in this afternoon, right?"

"That's right."

"Saw that little run in with Madam Mayor. Messy business. Thought I was going to have to step in if it got any more fierce. But you boys seemed to handle yourselves pretty well."

"Yeah, my brother and I are used to getting -" something caught his attention out the window. In the darkness Sam could make out a figure walking around the Impala. "I'm sorry, Ms. Lucas, but I've gotta go, um, check on something." He threw a few bucks on the table and gave her an apologetic smile. "I'll see you later."

He packed the book in his bag and quickly walked to the door. By the time he made it outside, there was no one around. He looked down the sidewalk both ways: nothing.

Finally, he saw it.

A playing-card shaped piece of paper stuck under the windshield wiper of the Impala. He walked over and picked up the card. On one side there was a picture of a white rabbit in a suit. He turned it around and found an address scribbled down.

He pulled out his phone and called Dean. Voicemail. "Hey, uh, I guess Emma didn't kick your ass out of her place, huh? Anyway, someone left this card on our windshield with an address on it. Apparently someone wants to talk with us. I think I'm gonna check it out. I'll text you the address in case you don't hear from me later. Oh and Dean, try not to piss off the sheriff. Bye."

* * *

Sam drove for about 10 minutes looking for the place. Finally, he found himself on the edge of town up on the hill driving up on a huge house. He got out of the car and looked at the view. You could see the entire town from up here. _How can someone from a town like _this _afford to live in a place like this? _he thought to himself.

He made sure his gun was tucked away under his shirt and pants behind him before he walked up the steps to the front door. He tensed when the door began to open, preparing himself.

"Finally! Took you long enough," the voice beamed from the top of the stairs.

"What's with the sketchy card? Why not just come up and talk to us?" Sam asked, holding up the card.

The man shrugged, "Call me a bit theatrical. Plus I don't _do _public crowds." He took an exaggerated breath, appearing bored. "You're Sam, right? The younger brother. I could only get one of you here, huh? Pity. Aw well. It'll have to do."

"How do you know who I am?" Sam asked, walking up slower.

"I can see everything!" he said, waving his hands in front of him at his view. "I keep track of the town and it's strangers that come into it. Though, thanks to that nasty curse, we haven't gotten many in the last few decades. But that's why you're here, isn't it? You and your brother."

"Maybe. What's it to you?" Sam was starting to get suspicious. If the curse was supposed to have taken away everyone's memories, how did this guy _know _about the curse?

The man rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "The savior and I aren't on very good terms. I kind of made a bad first impression. Judgment error, if you will. But you and your brother – you're just the thing she needs to get the ball rolling. To get us back to our home. With our loved ones."

"The white rabbit on the card – are you from Wonderland?" Sam questioned, trying to put some clues together.

The man's gaze darkened. Sam could tell he was trying very hard to stay calm. "I'm not _from _Wonderland. My _home _is the Enchanted Forest. Wonderland was where _that woman _sentenced me to before the curse. Where she _left _me; forcing me to abandon my daughter. And now _this _is my curse. Living here. Alone. _Knowing. _It'll drive you _mad_."

The name 'Mad Hatter' popped into Sam's mind. "Who are you?"

"Jefferson's the name. And I'm here to help."

* * *

**Gold's Pawn Shop**

Castiel found himself standing in the middle of a room filled with antiques and knick-knacks that were not of this world. Some had hints of dormant magic in them, like everything else in this town. He couldn't understand why he was here. What had called him away from Emma's kitchen?

"Lucky for me," he heard behind a sheet separating this main room from the back. An older man with a cane limped his way through the doorway and approached Cas calmly. "I don't need magic to perform a summoning spell. Even for an _angel_."

Cas could see inside him. See his true self, like he had with Emma. Emma had been filled with pure magic. The kind that's only created from the product of True Love in a land full of magic. This man, well. This was no man.

"Rumplestilskin."

* * *

**Ok, so this chapter kind of filled in the gaps of what Sam and Cas have been up to while Emma and Dean have story and whiskey time. And I couldn't write a season 1 OUAT story that _didn't _involve Jefferson and all his sass. **

**"xxxJusta1991xxx: Love Dean and Emma sharing stories about their lives and "screwing destiny" :) Oh, you're a CS fan too? That's great! :) I'm sure season 3 will be amazing for these two! ;)) Can't wait for the new chapter of your story! :))" Thank you! I figured the only way Emma would trust a stranger enough with her history would be if he were honest about his. Next chapter will get back to Emma and Dean!**

**"Dede42: Dean and Emma are meant for each other in more ways than one. Update soon!" I agree! It's almost scary how much they have in common! I hope I'm doing them justice! **


	11. Chapter 11: Face Off

**Gold's Shop**

"Rumplestilskin."

"Well, it's always nice to make an impression," Castiel thought he heard a tone of disgust in his voice as he said that. "And who is it that I've called upon?"

He ignored the question, knowing this was a man of names. He looked around the shop, "This piece of land was a forest. Twenty-eight years ago the area disappeared; we couldn't see it anymore. Just, blankness. A lot of angels spent a great deal of time trying to figure out what happened. And now I find myself in a town. A town full of dormant magic. And you," he studied the _man _standing in front of him. His face was growing impatient and angry the longer Cas talked. "You are very powerful. No, _were_. Would it be such a reach to assume all of this was your doing?"

Mr. Gold smirked, trying to repress his anger. "I didn't cast anything, friend. This," he gestured around him, "is not my work."

"No," Cas said calmly, cocking his head to the side, "you might not have cast the spell. But you created it. You _wanted _to get to this world. Why?"

Mr. Gold's expression hardened. "How did you get here?"

"I was invited," Cas replied calmly. "Seems your force field," he caught himself using one of Dean's terms. He smiled to himself. "has a few holes in it. Especially with Emma's presence."

A smile formed on Mr. Gold's face. It looked almost menacing, but Cas wasn't intimidated.

"But if you made the curse," Cas began, putting the pieces together, "you made her the savior. You want her to break the curse."

"True love is the most powerful magic of all." Mr. Gold took a few steps closer. "But I'm afraid the plans didn't call for you and your lackeys. It would be _most beneficial _to you if you left."

Cas took a step forward, narrowing his eyes, "You may be powerful in your world, _imp_, but this – this is my world. I have the power here," thunder rolled outside, followed by a few flashes of lightning. A flash of fear appeared in Mr. Gold's eyes, but he quickly composed himself. "I'm here to set the course back. Your magic isn't meant to be here. _You're _not meant to be here. My allegiance is my own. And I choose to help Emma."

He disappeared. Rumplestilskin simmered with rage at the display of power the angel showed.

"Only a matter of time," he thought to himself.

* * *

**The Apartment**

"So tell me, Emma," Dean began, starting to finally feel the effects of the alcohol, "how did you go from con artist to sheriff?"

He was impressed with how much Emma was drinking. Obviously she was far from a light weight. Something else they had in common. "Well, after I got out of the clink I spent a good deal of time in Florida. To be honest, I, uh – I spent two years just kind of waiting there."

"Waiting? On the Clyde to your Bonnie?" Dean watched as she cringed to his question. This was obviously something she didn't want to talk about. It was hard for her to pull out the words. He wondered if this was something that she'd every talked to _anyone _about.

"You mean the rat-bastard? Yeah. Then one day it kind of hit me. You know? What am I doing with my life? So I decided to do something. Take back control over my life. I've been taking care of myself since I was born; I didn't _need _anyone to make something of my life. But the only thing I'd ever been good at was finding liars and coning people. So, I decided to try my hand at police force. When I found out I had a knack at tracking people, I got offered at a Bail Bonds Industry."

"You were a Bail Bonds Man?" Dean chuckled, thinking back to the random ID he'd pulled out earlier today which held the same occupation.

"Bail Bonds Person," she corrected, giving him a smirk. "So I spent the next six years traveling the country. Finding ass holes and bringing justice. Until Henry brought me here." She sounded like she was done with her story, though Dean could have sworn that there was a little something more at the end. Something she wasn't ready to tell. "And what about you? Hunting ghosts and monsters doesn't sound like it pays the bills."

Dean chuckled, "I know a few con tricks myself. Nothing I'm willing to share with the Sheriff though."

Emma laughed. "Touché." She was fiddling with her glass, "So, how long are you planning to stay here?"

Dean looked at Emma. He could tell that her asking this question meant a lot. Like him, she was afraid of appearing vulnerable. Of acting like she needed anyone. Of relying on anyone. "Honestly, I don't know. Our work kind of drags us all over the place. But I promise," he said, waiting until she made eye contact with him before he continued, "that I will not leave until I'm certain Henry is ok. You were right. He wormed his way under my skin and I just can't leave without knowing if he's going to be alright. And you know what?" He could see her biting her lip. Henry was her soft spot and he knew he just hit it. "So did you. I won't leave until you're ok. I'm here to help. In any way possible, whether that be breaking a curse, or just being a friend."

The corner of her mouth rose. "How do I know you don't have some hidden agenda? Or that you're just telling me what I want to hear?"

He cocked his head to the side and smiled, "Because if I've learned anything about you, Swan, it's that you can tell when someone's lying." He leaned in a little, "Plus I get the feeling that if I even _tried _to double cross you, you'd kick my ass into next week."

She chuckled, and he found that he liked to make her laugh. He checked the clock. Normally with a chick this cool and gorgeous, he'd be making the moves like crazy. But there was something _different _about Emma. He wanted to prove himself, he wanted her to trust him. And he had a feeling that if he even _tried _hitting on her it would cancel out everything he'd just said in her mind.

So he made a decision. He started to get up off the stool. "It's uh, it's after 1. I should probably start to head back to the inn. Let you get to sleep. The Sheriff can't be hung over and late to work," he smiled as they walked to the door.

She stopped a few paces from the door, turning to Dean. "Thank you, for coming over tonight. Your friend – that _angel_," she still said it as if she were in disbelief, "I was pretty shaken up. Please tell him that if he does that again, I'll probably end up shooting him. Even if it won't do anything to him," she said playfully. Dean laughed, noticing that she was standing only a foot in front of him. She was playing with the bottom of her shirt; nervous twitch. She looked up into his eyes, "Tonight was very out of character for me. I don't usually open up to people like that on the first night I meet them. Hell, I don't open up to anyone period."

Dean smiled, looking down at her, "I know what you mean. Tonight was _very _rare for me, too. Most people don't handle me telling them I've been to Hell the way you did."

She chuckled, "Prudes."

That electricity sparked up again. It was taking everything in his power not to jump on her. Especially when he noticed her look down at his lips, then back at his eyes.

"Goodnight, Emma," he whispered. He nodded, and turned toward the door.

Suddenly, he felt a tug on his shirt, forcing him to turn back around. She pulled him against her faster than he had time to register. Her hands cupped his face as her lips crashed on to his. A second of shock was all it took for him to compose himself enough to kiss her back, wrapping his hands around her waist and pulling her into him.

If heaven was like anything, it would be this.

The door unlatching and opening forced the pair to jump in surprise. Like two teenagers getting caught by their parents. A woman with _very _short black hair walked in, equally shocked at the scene she'd just walked into.

"Oh! I'm so sorry," she started, quickly closing the door and walking past them.

Emma was the first to speak up; a little out of breath, Dean noticed. "It's ok Mary Margaret. Um, this is Dean Winchester. One of the visitors. Dean, this is my roommate, Mary Margaret." Dean nodded and gave an embarrassed hello, rubbing the back of his neck. "Dean was just on his way out."

"Right," Dean said, finally finding his voice. "Nice to meet you. Goodnight again, Emma," he said, giving her a smile before he turned toward the door.

"Goodnight, Dean," she replied, giving him a smile. A genuine smile he definitely earned.

Before the door closed all the way he heard Mary Margaret's voice behind it, "That's not the one Ruby had dibs on, was it?"

Dean laughed, _Sammy's definitely hearing that one. _

* * *

**I actually had to look up what it technically was a Bail Bondsman did. Also, I kind of embellished the bits and pieces of Emma's career life after she got out of prison. I tried to keep it in taste with her character type. And even though Graham technically kissed Emma first, I kind of based her action to kiss Dean first on the way she kissed Graham at the station. You know, before he died (moment of silence). **

**I named the chapter so because of the face off Rumple and Cas had at the beginning of the chapter - and the "face off" Emma and Dean had at the end. *wink wink, nudge nudge* **

**Oh, and one last thing. I got ****_really _****bored the other night, so I decided to play on photoshop and ended up making a cover picture for my story. I wish it were a little bigger, but ah well. I thought it was cute! **

**"Dede42: You're doing this story justice all right and Sam better be on his guard when it comes to Jefferson. Also I hope that Cas can deal with Gold without the imp tricking him into doing something that could end up being bad for everyone. Update soon!" Thank you! :) And yeah, well we don't have to worry about that yet! But he might be in for some revenge after Rumple gets his powers back. Cas is in the process of looking for God right around this time... **

**"Wolfshinobi91192: I love this story. Keep up the good work! :)" Thank you! I'm really glad you like it! **

**"NikkixBremner: I love it! You have all the characters' personalities down to the final detail, and it makes a great reading experience. Can't wait for the next chapter :)" I'm so glad to hear that! Seriously, that's been my biggest OCD about this entire story. If the characters ever go out of character I promise I'll try to give a plausible reason for them to do so. Hopefully Emma's hardheadedness wont regress all the work Dean's done so far in getting her to start believing...**


	12. Chapter 12: An Apple

**Jefferson's**

"So, what are you proposing, Jefferson?" Sam asked, still not completely trusting this mad man.

Jefferson smiled, "My assistance. I've acquired a lot information about the town and about the curse over the last 28 years. If you wouldn't mind joining me, I just made some tea -"

Sam's pocket began to vibrate. He pulled out his phone: Dean. "Hey man, did you uh, did you get my message?"

"Yeah, I just left Emma's. Hell of a girl, Sammy. I'm starting to really like this case. Are you still at the card-person's place, thing?"

"Yeah. Everything is just jazzy," Sam said, watching Jefferson grow impatient with him.

"Need backup?"

"No, I've got it covered." Sam hung up.

Jefferson gave him a questionable look, gesturing for Sam to follow him inside.

"You know, I'll have to take a rain check on that drink, Jefferson," Sam answered, walking back to the Impala. From the corner of his eye he could see Jefferson sigh and rub his temples.

* * *

**The Inn**

Sam made it back to the inn, walking in on Dean loading his gun.

"One minute more and I was about to be on my way," Dean said, unloading his gun and throwing it in his bag.

Sam chuckled, "Yeah, well I drove fast. That guy's house is on the edge of town."

They were referring to the code word Sam had used on the phone. _Jazzy _was their code for 'something sketchy is going on, if you don't hear from me in ten minutes get your ass over here for back up.'

"So, what happened? Who was it?" Dean asked, starting to get dressed for bed.

"Jefferson. I think he's also the Mad Hatter. Apparently he's aware of the curse. Says that the queen 'left him' in Wonderland. There was something about a daughter, I think. But anyway, he said he offered to help with information," Sam answered.

"So what made him sketchy?"

"Just the way this guy talked. The way he came across. He knew too much about us," Dean could hear the uncertainty in Sam's voice.

"I'll ask Emma about Jefferson tomorrow."

"So how did that go?" Sam asked, raising an eye brow.

Dean smiled, "Everything was great until her _mom _interrupted us."

"That's pretty fast, Dean. Even for you," Sam smirked. He liked the sheriff, he didn't want his brother chasing her away.

Dean gave him a look, one he'd only seen a handful of times. Dean looked _happy_. "It wasn't like that, Sammy."

"So what was it?" Sam asked, wondering if his brother was actually going to tell him how he felt. He doubted it.

Dean shrugged, "Well to start off, I was right. Cas was there, and he did his whole angel wings thing. Scared the crap out of her. But, it did make her believe me about our job and stuff. I think she's still skeptical about the curse. I have a feeling it's going to take something major for her to completely believe."

* * *

**Jefferson's**

Jefferson huffed as he made his way back into the house. He poured the tea he'd made down the drain. The same tea he'd offered Emma when she mistook him for an injured pedestrian.

The sound of heels walking down the stairs pulled at his attention. He turned his head to see the mayor walking out of her hiding place, hands in her suit pockets.

"Well, Jefferson. I can't say this is the first time you've disappointed me," Regina said coldly.

Jefferson sighed, trying to appear as if he wasn't upset with how things had gone. Truth was, he was kind of relieved he didn't have to go through with this. If Emma was ever going to get around to breaking this curse, those guys would only help.

"What can I say? I guess I just don't have the allure I thought I had," he spoke plainly. "It's not my fault."

Regina stood a few feet in front of him, "Yes, it is. You want your daughter back don't you? You _promised _me you could get them _out _of the way. And you just let him walk away."

Jefferson laughed, "What did you want me to do? Tackle that giant? I may be able to take a hit, but he was carrying a gun. And I am not inclined to getting my head shot off. Besides, if they help Emma, the curse will be broken. The madness will end; we can all go home."

"To your hovel? Selling fungus at the fair?" she smirked. "I thought we were both on the same side here. We are both getting what we want. We are doing this for our children. I'm getting rid of those _pests _and you're getting a new life with your dear Grace. Unless, you've suddenly decided that isn't what you want."

"No," he all-but growled. "There has to be something else."

Regina turned, starting to walk away from him. "My problem is Miss Swan and the Winchester boys trying to break my curse and steal my son. I can't kill her without destroying the curse," she said out loud, clearly talking to herself. "So how can I get around that?" She turned back to him, smiling menacingly. "There's something I brought, something I thought maybe would come in handy." She walked over to where she was hiding earlier and came back carrying a top hat case.

"My hat," he breathed out, astonished. This was the first time in decades he'd seen it. He spent more hours than he could count working on making a hat that could do the things this one did. _His _hat. The hat that _she _used to trap him in Wonderland. The hat that _she _used to trick him into abandoning his daughter.

The hat that worked.

"I want you to use it," she said plainly.

He laughed, "I can't. Not here. Not without magic."

"Well, lucky for you, I happen to have some."

* * *

**The Inn**

Dean was about to fall asleep when his phone started ringing. He groaned, rolling over and answering it. "Cas?"

"Dean," he heard on the other line, "where are you? I can't leave the town unless someone brings me back."

He sighed, finally feeling the weight of the long day settling over him. He was exhausted. "Listen, man. Sam and I are gonna catch a few Z's for about 6 hours. We are at Granny's Inn, room 7."

"Ok, I'll be there in 6 hours to wake you up."

"What are you going to do in the mean time?" he said, hoping that the angel wasn't going to get himself in trouble.

"I'll scope the town." The line dropped. Dean groaned, throwing the phone back on the nightstand. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out.

* * *

**Regina's Vault**

"Watch your head," Regina warned as Jefferson and she walked down the stairs.

"What is this place?"

Regina led them to a section of the vault surrounded by little trinkets. "Where I've kept the last bit of my magic. The only magic in this world lives in the things I brought with me."

_A vault under your father's tomb, _he thought, _and they call me mad. _

Jefferson set the hat down in the middle of the room. He and Regina watched, waiting for the hat to spin and a portal to open. Nothing. "It's not spinning. It's not working."

She looked around, "It needs to absorb the magic that's here." She walked over and took a box off a shelf. "I have a few things left. A few trinkets."

She poured the items in the hat. Still, nothing. Jefferson bent down and turned over the hat. "It's not enough. We need something that still works."

He watched her pull something out of her pocket. _A ring? _It began to glow and a face appeared in the center. It was too far away for him to recognize the image, "Who's that?"

"Someone long gone," she said longingly into the ring. His mind raced back to when they first met. To the man she was so desperate to save.

He decided to play dumb. "Well, whatever – or whoever it is, it still has magical properties. Give me that, let me see what I can do with it," he offered her the hat for her to drop it in. She hesitated, backing up a step, guarding the object. "If you want your son back, if you want your revenge – give it to me." He could taste the sound of pay back in his voice. He was taking something precious from her and she would never get it back. It took all his power not to grin.

She pointed for him to set the hat down, obviously not trusting him enough to do it himself. She placed the ring in the hat.

Something happened.

The hat began to spin, slowly. "What's wrong?" Regina asked. "Why isn't it opening a portal?"

Jefferson bent down to inspect his hat, "The magic, it's not enough. I can't go anywhere."

"Then you've failed."

"Maybe not," Jefferson said desperately. "There's enough magic to touch the other side, just not to get us there. There might be enough to reach through and retrieve something."

Regina dropped to the floor hopeful, "I can bring something back?"

"A certain object that can help you. Perhaps I can open it enough and reach through and grab it. But it would have to be small. Something that you can take with your hand. Is there anything like that that can help you?"

"Yes," she replied, a smile widening on her face, "yes I believe there is."

He took a grip of the hat, "Then you need to direct me to the time and place where this object exists." He handed her the hat.

"How?"

"Think about it. Guide the hat."

She closed her eyes and wrapped her hands around the hat. She set it down and they watched as it started to spin again. She let out a triumphant laugh.

"Excellent," he said sarcastically. "Appears to be working. Now what is it we're after?"

"An apple," she answered, her face never falling from a grin.

* * *

**The story is ****_finally _****coming along! Can you believe it? Twelve chapters all talking about the same day. I thought we should see a little bit of Regina being her regular evil self. Most of the dialogue at the end between her and Jefferson are directly from the episode. I'm trying to keep it as much to the original as I think it should. **

**"xxxJusta1991xxx: OMG! Loved this chapter! Mary Margaret had to ruin moment! xD It was so funny but maybe it's better for Dean that she doesn't remember that Emma is her daughter cause Dean might be in trouble lol Can't wait for new chapter! :))" I'm glad you liked it! I had way too much fun with the idea of Emma's mom walking in on her and Dean kissing! **

**"Dede42: This one had me chuckling, especially Mary Margaret walking in on Dean and Emma like that when they were kidding, and I'm sure that you'll have Sam and Ruby getting together. Update soon! :)" Haha! Of course Sam and Ruby are destined to be together! She has all the characteristics of the type of girl Sam falls for. Werewolf and named Ruby! (ouch, was that too harsh?) And I wonder who he'll like more, Ruby or Red? **


	13. Chapter 13: A Normal Morning

**The Apartment**

Emma woke up the next morning with a slight head ache and a fuzzy memory of what happened last night.

Let's see: she had stormed out the station after being upset of losing control over the situation. Things were getting _too_ overwhelming and just _ridiculous_. And then she'd gone home, poured a glass of her favorite whiskey. And then -

And then she remembered. She couldn't be remembering correctly. She'd had a lot to drink. She was stressed. She was tired.

But that wasn't completely true. She hadn't drinking _that_ much. The word kept ringing in her head. _Angel_.

But there _had_ to be a reasonable explanation. Her brain immediately started to try to make reason about what it is she had seen. Just a freak storm. A freak storm that blew out her electricity, and some of her bulbs _just happened_ to blow at the same time. And those couldn't have been… _wings_. No. They were probably just two shadows of something in the room that looked like that….

Yeah. That _had_ to be it.

And then Dean had come over. Had confirmed that what she'd seen was true. And had she really just gone all out and blabbed about her entire life to this complete _stranger_?

But that was the thing. He didn't _feel_ like a stranger. Since she'd met him, getting past the initial bullshit, she'd really felt some kind of connection to him. She recognized something in him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Something that she recognized in herself that she didn't quite want to admit to. That made her feel…

She wanted to say complete. But god, that would be ridiculous. Now _that_ was a fairy tale.

As she was getting ready for work, finishing up taming a few loose curls, she thought back to what Dean had told her last night. He hadn't once lied to her. In fact, since she'd met him, he hadn't told her one lie. Sure, there'd been some things he'd left out, but his explanations were valid enough for her. She almost trusted him – almost.

But monsters and ghosts? Had he _really_ said he'd been to hell? She shook her head. She didn't know what to believe. It was hard for her; she was a logical person. She's made a career out of separating fact from fiction. Her job was finding out the truth. That's why this whole curse nonsense had been so difficult for her to believe. It just _couldn't_ be real. It was illogical.

She groaned as she poured her mug of cocoa and watched Mary Margaret run around the apartment getting ready for work.

When she walked into the kitchen and poured her a mug, she gave Emma a raised eye brow. "So last night, are you ready to talk about it?"

Emma couldn't help but feel like she was using a "mom" voice, even though Emma was the only mom out of the two of them. She simply groaned and rolled her eyes in response to her roommate.

"There's nothing to say."

"No, no. You're right. Because kissing mysterious town strangers is something you do on a regular basis," she gave her a sly smile. Emma had never had a friend like Mary Margaret. Someone who immediately cared and trusted her so much; and Emma couldn't help but feel the same way. She was always putting Emma in her place and making her deal with the things she couldn't address on her own. And Emma couldn't be more grateful, no matter how hard she'd grip her teeth in the process.

"I don't know. I mean, I don't know what came over me. We were just talking. Our pasts are so similar," she noticed Mary Margaret's eyes raise in question, "well, not in every detail. But we've both been through a lot so early in life. Too much responsibility too soon. Hell, we've even both had criminal backgrounds."

"What?" Mary Margaret said, concerned.

Emma rolled her eyes. " Nothing like killing people or anything," _nothing human, that is_. "Just petty theft stuff. Anyway. There's just something about him. And then when I asked what he was doing here and when he was leaving town, he said he wouldn't leave until he made sure Henry was ok."

"Ok? What does that mean? How is he supposed to help?"

Emma just shook her head, not ready to go into detail. She just chuckled, "with the curse, of course."

Mary Margaret smiled, "and that's what made you kiss him?"

"I don't know," Emma shook her head.

"Well you didn't have this kind of reaction to August when he got here."

Emma groaned, "Oh crap. August." She hadn't paid any attention to her phone at all yesterday evening and night. So when she checked her phone this morning, she couldn't believe how many calls and messages she had from him. "He's gotta talk to me about something or uh - something. I don't know." She threw on her jacket and grabbed her keys, "I'll call him on my way to work."

She said her farewell to her roommate, who simply shook her head at Emma with a smile.

* * *

Emma noticed Dr. Hopper was sitting in Granny's when she drove by. She figured she'd stop in and ask his professional opinion about her custody battle. It was always good to get the kid in question's therapist's opinion.

When she sat down and asked him his thoughts, he gave her a disheartening sigh. "Let me ask you a question, as this war between you and Regina rages on, who is really getting hurt?

The question didn't need an answer. "But isn't it good for him to be with me? I'm his mother."

"Emma, all personal and professional feelings aside - I'm afraid you just don't have a case for getting custody. You are his mother, but so is Regina. The court is going to look at how he's been doing since you came into his life."

"And he's been happier, right?" she said hopefully.

"Maybe, but objectively? He's skipped school, stolen a credit card, run away, endangered himself - repeatedly. In the eyes of the law..."

She gave him a desperate look, "what about your eyes? What do you think?"

He sighed, shaking his head. "You know, a while back I told you to engage him on his fantasy life. Perhaps - perhaps I was wrong. He's been retreating further into it."

"You think he's better off with _her_," she asked.

"I didn't say that."

She leaned in a little closer, "Do you think that she would ever hurt him?"

"No. Never!" he replied. "Everyone else, sure. But not him. Her actions, right or wrong, have been defensive. I'm not judging here. But in many ways, Emma, your arrival woke a sleeping dragon."

She cringed at the choice of words.

"It comes down to this: if you two are going to be in his life, you have to figure out the best way to do that."

What he said made sense. So many thoughts were running through her head at the moment. _Should she leave? Should she make him stop with this curse stuff? Should she try reasoning with Regina? Call a truce? Was Regina even capable of engaging in a parlay? What exactly was best for Henry? _She'd need to take some time and think about all of this.

She gave Dr. Hopper a pathetic excuse for a smile, "Thanks, I appreciate you talking to me. Have a good day, Archie."

* * *

A few minutes later Emma parked and made her way to the station. She had one ear glued to her phone, waiting on August to pick up. Hopefully whatever it was he wanted to discuss would be a good distraction for a moment.

"Emma! Finally! Where were you last night?"

August said he held the answer to her custody battle situation. Should she tell him everything that had happened over the last 24 hours? She just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something sketchy about him. Hell, she'd known Dean for one day and she trusted him more than August. It wasn't that August hadn't proved himself; he'd done a hell of a job helping her try to save Mary Margaret. But there was something in the subtext. Something between the lines. And that was what the difference between the two visitors were.

"Uh, sorry August. Long day with Henry and everything. But I'm getting back to you now. What's up?" She was in her office. _Her_ office; she smiled at the title, not sure how she felt about the idea of giving it up.

"Take the day off. Come with me. So I can show you the big picture I promised." He sounded desperate.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. You have an hour to tell me what it is you need to, and then I have to get back to work." She heard the doors to the station open; she cringed, expecting Regina to walk in. Instead, it was Dean. Her body tensed and her mouth parted in surprise.

"Great! I'll be over there right after I finish breakfast! You won't regret it, Emma." And then he hung up.

_Shit,_ she thought.

She put down her phone and started to pull off her jacket while Dean awkwardly walked into the office.

"Hey," he said cautiously. "I just, uh, I wanted to ask you something."

_Please don't let it be a date_, her brain said; though her subconscious was telling her something different.

"What can you tell me about a resident named Jefferson? We didn't catch his last name, but he lives on the big house on the edge of town." If he were watching her closely, he would have noticed how Emma's entire body had stiffened at the name. She swore he could hear her heart beating it was pounding so loud. His eyes narrowed, _he noticed_. He was good at reading people; something else they had in common.

"He's a very lonely man. How could you possibly have seen him? He never leaves his house," _except to abduct women_.

She watched as he listened intently to what she was saying. "Apparently he does. Well, long enough to stick a card on my windshield with his address."

"You didn't go, did you?" She asked, her voice suddenly rising as she took a step closer to him. She started to look over his body for any signs of being roughed up or drugged or something.

"Sam did while I was with you last night. He's fine though. The dude said he had information for us; he said he wanted to help. But Sam got a weird vibe from him so he wouldn't go in or talk to him longer. We've been doing our job long enough to trust those kind of feelings; even the slightest ones."

"Good. He's wise to think so. Guy is nuts. Whatever you do, don't drink any of his tea," he gave her a questionable look. "Just, trust me."

Dean nodded. He looked around nervously, rubbing his neck. She wondered if he had something else to add.

"Is that all you came down here for?" she asked.

"Well I would have called, but I didn't have your number."

"You didn't know the number for the police?" she asked facetiously, giving him a smirk.

He chuckled nervously.

"I noticed Henry swiped an extra walkie-talkie from the supply closet while we were here last night and give it to Sam. That's how Henry and I communicate." She said with a smile.

He laughed, "Yeah, Sam showed me. Walkie-talkies are awesome. I told Sammy we should invest in some."

"Well, if you need to get a hold of me, channel 4." She wondered if that was his discrete way of asking for her phone number. But she wasn't ready for him to have a direct line for him to contact her privately. Especially if she wasn't certain on how long he were staying.

The sound of the doors closing made the pair turn towards the new guest. August stopped in his tracks when he noticed Emma wasn't alone.

"Emma," he said protectively, "I thought we were heading out?"

She looked between the two. Dean had suddenly stiffened at August's arrival. _That's weird_, she thought curiously. "We are. August, have you met Dean?"

August shook his head, "I haven't. Ran into your brother last night though, had a nice little chat."

"Yeah. He said you gave a very _wooden _speech," Dean said antagonizing.

_What's going on?_ Emma thought, looking between the two. "Alright, well. August and I have, uh, something to do?" she directed at August.

"We have to go somewhere, but it won't take that long," August replied, happy to finally have Emma's attention.

Dean was still looking at August, studying him almost. He looked like he didn't trust him, which Emma found strange.

"Alright well, we better get going. You only have an hour, remember?" She gestured for him to take the lead out the station. She gave a nod to Dean as she walked by.

He suddenly grabbed her hand, forcing her to stop following August. Emma tried not to notice how her heart began to beat a little faster at his touch; his hand was rough and calloused, but strong. "Hey, um. Be careful. If you need backup, I'll keep the talkie on. I just – I don't trust that guy."

She gave him a strange look, "You just met him." He gave her a shrug and a '_so what' _face. She smiled, "Thanks Dean, but I think I can take care of myself." She gave him a smirk and followed August out the door.

_Finally_, she thought, _a normal morning_. One without fairy tales or curses or monsters. She could get used to this.

* * *

**This chapter is kind of boring, but it'll get good in the next chapter! I thought Emma needed a nice, calm, normal morning where she could just think over all the things that had happened the night before. Also I felt like this was a good time for Emma and Archie to have their little custody battle discussion. Get Emma to start thinking about whether this is really the right thing for Henry. I hope that August doesn't do something to freak her out and push her over the edge... *hint hint***

**"Dede42: Beware the poison apple, guys! I bet that the Winchesters may have a connection with the Enchanted Forest that they don't know about yet, and that connection is going to play an important role in the future. Let's hope Cas really does give Dean those six hours he needs to sleep before something bad happens. Update soon! :D" Haha! Yeah, Dean isn't pretty without his required sleep! **

**"xxxJusta1991xxx: Great chapter! Jefferson couldn't trick Sam ;) Loved Sam/Dean code ;) Can't wait to find out what will happen next! ;)" Yeah, I just couldn't resist giving Sam and Dean some kind of code. And it _had _to be something as equally cheesy as funkytown lol. I think that the next chapter will be a lot more exciting! **

**"Guest: Love the story so far! Can't wait until the next chapter!" Thank you! :) I'm really glad you're enjoying it!**


	14. Chapter 14: You're All Screwed

**August's Bike**

August and Emma had been riding for about twenty minutes; fifteen of those were outside of the town line. Emma felt a strange tang of guilt whenever she saw the "Leaving Storybrooke" sign, remembering her promise to Henry. She hadn't realized that they were going so out of the way. Her suspicion of August was growing.

They finally pulled over next to some kind of restaurant. A place she recognized all too well.

"What the hell is this?" she asked forcefully as she pulled off her helmet and jumped off the bike, gesturing toward the establishment. What the hell did this guy think he was doing bringing her here?

He barely reacted to her attitude. "Last I checked, it was a diner."

She was tired of his games. She was tired of his enigma. She was tired of everything this damn writer was doing. "No more screwing around. I'm not a character in one of your books. What the hell are we doing here?" She wanted answers.

He reached into his jacket, pulling out a newspaper clipping, "I think you know." Her gaze sharpened on the clip and she tensed. Her entire body froze and she felt like she couldn't breathe. Her lungs had jumped into her throat and she couldn't pinch out a syllable. She couldn't move her eyes away from the printed words on the sheet: _7 Year Old Boy Finds Baby On Side Of Road_. "You've been here before. This is the diner you were brought to when you were found as a baby."

_Be cool_, Emma thought. _Poker face. Do what you do best. He doesn't need to know that that means anything to you. _This guy didn't _know _her, not really. She could play it off, if only her voice would allow. "So you found an article about me. So what?" _Change the subject_. "I thought this trip was supposed to be about you."

He began to fold the article back, "It is. This is my story. And it's your story."

"And how is that?" she asked a little too quickly and defensively.

His expression became serious, "That seven year old boy who found you… that was me."

She hadn't realized it, but her feet had moved her a couple steps back. Her heart dropped and her stomach turned. This couldn't be true. She'd been doing research on her own case her entire life; she'd been hunting down every piece of the puzzle she could find. And _nothing _had ever led anywhere when she'd try to find any information on that little boy.

He was lying. He had to be. "Yeah… right."

"I can prove it," he turned and headed off the road and into the woods behind the diner. She grew cautious. You weren't supposed to follow muscular men into a secluded area – especially when they were talking crazy. Suddenly she thought back to Dean and what he had told her earlier. He'd warned her about him; he hadn't trusted him. Maybe she'd been too quick to disregard his notion. Even if she'd had her talkie, she was way out of range here. She suddenly wished she hadn't been so distant and had just gotten his phone number. Who knew if it could come in handy.

Especially since she found that her feet had begun walking off road and following the nut job. Apparently her subconscious curiosity had won over good sense.

Finally, she decided to speak up, "Why are we in the woods?'

"All the answers you have been searching for are right where I found you," he said, walking quite hastily and looking around. She couldn't figure out what it was he was looking for.

"See!" the raise in her voice gave away her distress, "you're not that seven year old boy! I wasn't found in the woods, I was found on the side of a highway."

"And why do you think that? Because you read it in the newspaper? Did it ever occur to you that maybe that seven year old boy lied about where he found you?"

She rolled her eyes, growing tired of his bull shit. If this was his way of trying to get her to go on another date with him, he was definitely sabotaging his chances. "No. But it occurs to me that you've been lying to me about everything." She stopped walking. She was emotionally exhausted, though she refused to let him see that. "And I'm done listening." Emma turned to head back the direction they had come.

"When I found you, you were wrapped in a blanket." She froze. Her head was pounding and her heart was beating a mile a minute. _Lucky guess_, she thought. "And the name 'Emma' was embroidered along the bottom of it." Her hands began to tremble as a flash of the only possession she had ever kept with her through all the homes and all the foster houses and all the shelters and all the cars and all apartments she'd ever temporarily lived in. The _only _thing she had from her real parents; to her family. She turned and took a few trembling steps back toward him. "That wasn't in the article, was it? How would I know that unless I was there?"

Was he bluffing? Had he seen her blanket in her apartment during one of his many visits? Had Mary Margaret said something to him, or hinted at something after she told her about it? Or maybe those twin kids had accidentally mentioned it to him? _Calm down_, Emma said to herself. She had to contain her aloof appearance to keep the upper hand. "Ok," she decided to entertain the idea, just to see where he would take it. "Let's say you _were _that kid. Why lie about where you found me?"

"I lied to protect you." Again with the enigma.

"From _what_?!" she protested.

He pointed behind him, "that."

She looked in the direction of his thumb. A large, old, moss covered oak. "A _tree_?"

"You've read Henry's book, right?"

She scoffed. _Oh god, _she thought, _the tree's an evil plant from another world and that's why I needed protecting_. He was beginning to lose her belief. _Especially _if he decided to throw in all of _that _crap.

"You know about the curse, don't you? Your role in it?" he looked down, giving a dramatic pause. "It's true, Emma. We both came into this world," he turned around and started walking around the tree, stopping in front of what appeared to be a giant hole in the side of it, "through this tree."

She followed him and peered into the opening. Nothing. She couldn't figure out what she was more of: angry, annoyed, insulted, or scared. And all of these emotions climbing for dominance had her fighting back tears that she _refused _to let fall. Not now; not ever. She _refused _to let him get to her. "You're asking me to believe that you are a fairy tale character?"

"Pinocchio," he smiled. He _actually _dared to smile at her as he stood there and talked to her as if she were a fool – a child. A child who was supposed to believe all of this _crap _blindly.

"Right, of course Pinocchio," she said condescendingly. "Explains all the lying." He looked down and for a second she thought that he looked almost ashamed. Suddenly she realized, "You're the one who added the story to Henry's book."

"I needed you to know the truth."

"The truth is you are out of your mind. And you're not even a very good liar. Why not write the end of that story?"

"Because _this _is the ending, and we're writing it right now," he pointed down.

"And how does this story end?" she asked facetiously.

His eyes were locked on hers as he leaned in slightly; his expression was… hopeful. "With you believing."

A smile began to slowly form on his lips and she couldn't figure out if he were flat out crazy or if he actually had some kind of mental problem. Was this how Henry was going to become if she continued to let him go along with this fairy tale crap? Like August? Or even Jefferson? Henry had already tried going down an unstable mine shaft just to try to prove that there was a curse; could he go so far as to drug a woman he suspected to be the next savior and try to make her believe him? Was _this _what her presence in his life could lead to?

"Not gonna happen," she finally breathed out, answering him. His expression was genuine. He was startled; almost afraid. This was her cue. This was her moment to leave. This was her safety window to _get out. _

She turned around and started walking for the second time in the opposite direction. When she heard him start to walk faster to catch up with her, she started to jogging.

"Emma? Emma, wait!" She heard him hit the ground and groan.

_Is this an act? _She kept her distance, but stopped to look at him. He was holding his leg. That damn leg. The same leg that had been giving him trouble for days now. "What… is wrong… with your leg?"

He laughed. He was actually laughing. Laying on the ground in pain, for whatever reason, _laughing_. If there were ever a sign of crazy, this was it.

"I failed," he said plainly.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, tired of the crazy.

"It doesn't matter," he said, laying in defeat, "you don't believe."

He started to roll around, trying to find the right leverage to work his way back up. She was getting angry. She had been playing nice for far too long and she was getting _sick _of _all _of the _bullshit_ this damn writer was spouting. "If you think that by making me feel sorry for you, that something's gonna change, you are _wrong_."

He finally made it up, still limping, "I am _not _screwing around here. Whatever you believe or don't – this is _real, _Emma. I am _sick._"

"That's an understatement," she said dryly.

He was standing hunched over as he rose his head, "You ever been to Phuket? It's beautiful; amazing island full of pleasures. The perfect place to lose oneself. That's where I was," he rose up, still uneasy, "when _you _decided to stay in Storybrooke."

"How do you know when I decided to stay in Storybrooke?"

"Because at 8:15 in the morning, I woke up with a shooting pain in my leg. That's 8:15 at night in Storybrooke – sound familiar? That's when time there started to move forward again. I was supposed to be there for you… and I wasn't," he hunched over again and she could swear he sounded like he were about to cry. What was his game? _What_ _was this? _"Because I was halfway around the world. And I got a painful reminder of just how far I'd strayed." He took a seat on one of the nearby fallen trees. "If that tree won't make you believe… maybe _this _will."

He reached for the bottom of his left pant's leg and started to pull it upward, revealing the top of his boot and his lower leg. She studied the skin, looking for whatever it was that was supposed to make her believe. But she couldn't see anything. Just skin and leg hair. "How does that prove anything?"

His head snapped down to look at his leg; his voice was growing distraught. "Look."

"August," she said seriously. "I'm looking."

His face read an expression of disbelief. "You don't see it, do you?"

"See what?"

"Your denial is more powerful than I thought." _Oh god, _she rolled her eyes_. _"It's preventing you from seeing the truth."

What the hell was wrong with him? Was he so crazy that he _actually _thought that there was something wrong with his leg? "Ok, one of us is losing it here. And it's not me."

"You don't want to believe. After _everything _you've seen," his voice grew louder and his gestures became frantic, "why can't you just do it?"

"Why is it so important to you that I do?"

"Because I – the town – _everyone _needs you!"

"I don't _want _them to need me!"

"Well that's too bad, because we all do."

This was it. This was her breaking point - the last brick to slide away from the dam that held the tears at bay. "You're saying that I am responsible for everyone's happiness? That is crap! I didn't ask for that! I don't _want _it!"

"Right _now_. A little while ago, you didn't want Henry either. But then he came to you and now you are fighting like hell for him," he said, trying to reason with her.

"For him!" her voice was starting to break, "Because that's all I can handle right now. And I'm not even doing a good job at that! Now you're telling me I have to save everyone? That is beyond ridiculous – I don'twant any of it!" She thought back to all those people she'd recently met in her new home: Ruby, Granny, Archie, Leroy, Marco, Ashley, Sean, Whale, Kathryn, Gold, David, Mary Margaret. How was she supposed to _save _all of those people? How had she gone from having _no one _to having an entire _town _of people depending on _her_? People she'd only known for less than a year! Her entire life she had to deal with people walking away; people leaving her alone to defend for herself. Why was it that she was the one who owed this? It wasn't fair! Where was her peaceful, happy ending?

"Well that's too bad, Emma. Because that doesn't change the truth," he stood up and took a few wobbly steps towards her. He leaned in closer, "You are our only hope."

She shook her head, "Then you're all screwed."

* * *

**Did August really think that a tree with a hole in it was supposed to make Emma believe in magic? Poor Dean, he's going to have one hell of a damage control task! **

**This chapter was pretty much the middle/end of the OUAT episode, The Stranger - but it's such a vital part of the story that I couldn't just be like "hey, go watch that scene from the episode" lol. The dialogue is pretty much word-for-word; another one of those moments where I didn't want to stray from the original. **

**Chapters might be a tad more scarce next week (I'll be visiting people who I'm not entirely sure will have wi-fi - and yes, those kind of people do still exist). But I will definitely keep writing regardless so that even if I can't post any this week, when I get back I'll have multiple chapters to post! **

**"Dede42: Having seen the show, I expect August is going to explain to Emma who he really is and take her to the location where they first arrived in our world. And who knows what's gonna happen next to the Winchesters while they're in Storybrooke." You were correct! :) the next chapter will focus more on the brothers. I like that format, where I spend one chapter focusing on one side, and the other focusing on the other. I think it helps fill in some missing parts that we didn't see during the other stuff. If that makes sense lol. **

**"xxxJusta1991xxx: I really liked this chapter! :) Emma could have some calm :) Can't wait for the next one with Emma meeting August! ;)" I'm really glad you liked it! I was afraid it was a bit too boring; but you're right, Emma needed some calm lol. **

**"scifigrl10: This is a really fun story! I hope you continue it soon!" Thank you! I think I've been doing a fairly decent job in the updating. I post at least every other day. No more than a week in between. I've kind of given myself that personal goal lol. But I'm glad you're enjoying the story :) I hope you continue to read! **


	15. Chapter 15: Seeing Red

**The Inn**

The sound of wings flapping startled Dean awake. He rose from his pillow and looked around until he saw Cas picking up one of the lamps on the desk and inspecting it.

He looked in the other bed, but Sam wasn't there. "Cas, where's Sam?" Dean picked up his phone and checked it. "It's 7:30?! Holy crap. I thought you were supposed to be here at 7?"

Cas sat down the lamp and walked over towards Dean. "I was. But Sam said to let you sleep a little longer. He's down stairs right now. I decided you had slept long enough and came to wake you."

"Well I'm glad you did. I didn't want to sleep in; I'm kicking Sammy's ass when I get down there," he said grouchy. He didn't like sleeping longer than he intended to.

* * *

When Dean made it down to the diner, he smiled. The sight of his brother sitting at the bar engaging in, what appeared to be, _very _friendly conversation with Ruby. It almost made up for his dick-wad move he'd pulled. Almost.

"Sammy! Did you press the snooze on my alarm angel so that you could come down here without me and hit on the hot waitress?" Dean said a little too loudly. He noticed Ruby's smile widen and her cheeks turn a shade of red that made her shorts appear dull.

Sam gave him his best bitch-face. Dean loved getting Sam to make that face. Sam turned to ruby and gave her an apologetic smile. "We were just chatting," Sam finally said.

"I was the one doing the hitting, actually," Ruby said with a giggle. "Is there anything you'd like?" she asked Dean as he sat down in one of the stools.

"A coffee would be perfect. Also, information on what time the sheriff station opens," he said with a wide smile.

Ruby grinned suggestively, "Emma usually gets in at 8. Seeing as its 7:50, I'm assuming you'd like that coffee to go?"

"Ruby, has anyone told you you're the best waitress ever?" Dean asked with a wink, watching his brother squirm out of the corner of his eye.

"I've been told once or twice. I'll be right back," she said, more to Sam than to Dean, but he wasn't complaining.

As soon as she was out of sight Sam smacked Dean's shoulder. "What the hell was that for? You made me look like an idiot."

"Oh Sammy, I don't ever have to help with that. Besides, that's what you get for putting the snooze on Cas like that. He's up in our room right now, I finally talked him into taking a shower. Though it wasn't easy. He tried to get in with all his clothes on... And let's just say I've seen enough cherub bottom to last a life time. By the way, we should think about getting him some new clothes; or at least another set of the same ones. I hate to think of how long it's been since those clothes have been washed," Ruby dropped off his cup and moved on to her other tables. Dean was almost positive Sam had ended up tuning him out when he'd caught a glimpse at Ruby. Was his brother really crushing hard on the small town girl? _Go Sammy_! "Anyway," he said loud enough to get Sam to look back in his direction, "you keep an eye on the angel while I go see Emma."

"What are you going to see her for anyway?" Sam asked.

Dean stood up and pulled out a few bucks, placing them on the bar. "Um... I'll figure something out."

"Ask about information on Jefferson," Sammy: the voice of reason. "There, now you have an excuse that won't make you sound like an idiot."

Dean frowned then turned to head out the diner, "Shut up."

Sam chuckled as he watched his brother leave. Guy had it bad for the sheriff. Which meant one of two things: he was going to sleep with her as soon as the job was over and then leave, which would piss her off; or he would _try_ to sleep with her, piss her off, and then kick his ass out of town. Sam got the impression from Emma that the latter was the more likable option.

Though, there was something. Something in the way he talked about her that reminded him of the way he'd talked about Cassie. But this was Dean. Even if he _had_ feelings for someone or any kind of general emotion he would bury it so deep that even he wouldn't recognize it.

Ruby walked back over to her side of the counter across from him. He found that he really enjoyed talking to Ruby. In the beginning she'd been forward, ostentatious, and a little fickle and, to be honest, a little ditsy. And while she was still forward, ostentatious, and fickle, Sam found that she was actually very smart when he dug deep enough. And she was kind, especially when she would talk about animals. Specifically her favorite kind: wolves. Sam had impressed her with his stories of visiting zoos and resorts across the country that held all kinds of exotic and interesting animals. He left out the part about the times he had to deal with werewolfs though; that was probably _way _too exotic for her taste.

She also loved to read. But that was a little harder to get out of her. She admitted that her favorite book was the Mysterious Island by Jules Verne, though she couldn't remember the last time she'd read it, or if she still even had it. She mentioned that she used to love to read; though when she said 'used to' her gaze appeared to be farther back than just a few years ago. But then she snapped back and explained that the library had been closed down for as long as she could remember. Sam suggested a few authors and books he thought maybe she'd be interested in. She sounded very excited when he mentioned Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and that he possibly had a copy she could borrow in one if his bags.

The entire conversation was weird, Sam had thought. She had this entire personality at the beginning of their conversation. One that focused on looks and appearance and attention. It was almost like she was 'playing dumb' sometimes because she thought she had to. Probably the job, Sam thought. But as they began to talk more and Sam began to ask deeper questions, it was like this entirely new personality was starting to seep through the cracks. She sounded more sure of herself and of the things she was saying. When she would start to get excited or passionate about something, there was a glow in her eyes. A strange, almost magical glow.

_That was it_, Sam thought. The curse. This Ruby wasn't the real Ruby. Whatever it was that was slowly peeping through was the Enchanted Forest Ruby. And somehow, Sam was breaking her. Breaking her curse.

"I know it's kind of lame, but in a small town you kind of have to deal with certain tropes and cliches that go with that. And uh, I was wondering if you wanted to go to this dinky drive in? It's in this little hide away. We don't really seem to have too many teenagers raging with hormones running around town, so people hardly go." She bit her lip as she threw out the date idea.

_A drive in_? Sam thought. He was 26 years old, he couldn't even remember the last time he'd been to the drive in. Or the movies in general. He could surely remember Dean's dates though. Or his stories, that is. Apparently, you don't watch the movie at the drive in.

He thought it was kind of juvenile, but he understood that in a town like this, date options are limited. And he'd already turned down her invitation to the bar. So he had another idea. "What about a picnic?" Her eyes lit up and she started to smile. "Know any good places around here with a really cool view? Like maybe of the water or something?"

"I do!" she said, almost too quickly.

"Great," Sam smiled. "I'll get a basket, we'll grab the food here, and you can lead the way to our destination. How does 11 sound? Can you get off?"

"Definitely," she giggled. "Even if I have to sneak out the window."

* * *

**The Impala**

Dean slammed the door shut as he sat in his car outside the station. He'd watched as Emma and _Pinocchio _drove off on his motorcycle.

He didn't like him. Especially after meeting him now. This was the guy who was supposed to have taken care of Emma. A freakin' tiny baby who knew nothing about anything! And _now_ 28 years later he decides to show up and 'make amends'? Yeah, right.

It was probably his leg. Or his wooden stick of a leg. He probably wasn't planning to ever come back; hell, he probably completely forgot about Emma. Until his leg started turning back into wood. He's not here for her; no. He's here for himself.

How could someone _forget_ about Emma Swan? If it had been his job to look after her - actually, he didn't have to imagine what that would have been like. He'd been in charge of watching Sammy since he was four years old.

Emma deserved someone to care for her; to not abandon her. She didn't need someone to protect her. No, she could definitely take care of herself. But everyone needed someone to at least be there for them.

That's when he decided. He started Baby up and began driving in the same direction as the bike. He was good at following people. By now he'd have lost sight of them, but he knew some tricks. And besides, if he had to guess, August was taking Emma to the place where they came through in this world. At least, that's the way Sam had described it to him. But Dean had more sense to know that a damn hole in a tree wasn't going to convince Emma that there was a whole other world with magic and curses. To be honest, it would probably just end up pissing her off more.

On his drive he thought about how they were going to help Emma with her belief issue. It would have to be something big; something that she couldn't discredit and bring logic to. He couldn't think of anything. He wasn't an expert in magic like that. Demons and wendigos, yes. But not magic.

And besides, would simply her _believing_ actually break a curse this big? And what would happen after that? Would the entire town just pick up and be thrown back into their own world leaving nothing but the forest? Would him and Sammy be sent with them, if they were still here? That wouldn't be good.

Suddenly the thought of Emma and Henry being sent to another world became unsettling. He knew Henry would be all for it; but Emma would be less enthused.

Why was he thinking this way, anyway? He would probably just leave after they finish whatever case this was and never see either of them again. As it always was.

And that, also, became very unsettling.

A diner off the highway caught Dean's eye; as did the empty bike parked in their parking lot. He parked on the other side of the lot and walked toward the restaurant. He opened the door and peered inside. Nope. Not there.

_They must be in the woods_, Dean thought. He slowly started walking in the direction he thought they had most likely gone in. He was a pretty skilled tracker. He'd probably be a decent conventional hunter - if it wasn't for his dislike of killing Bambi.

The sound if branches snapping caught his attention but it was too late to hide. The bright blonde caught his attention first, then the tear stained eyes.

"Dean?!" she asked in disbelief when she finally realized someone was standing there. "Did you follow me?"

He tried to play it cool, but he knew this didn't look good. "I just, uh. I didn't trust him. I'm sorry. I wasn't going to intervene or anything. I just wanted to make sure you'd be ok."

"Well good. Because that son of a bitch is crazy and there's no way I'm going to ride home with him. Can you take me back?" it wasn't a question. She was already walking past him toward the road.

Dean didn't know what to do. He wanted to ask if she were alright; what the tears were for. But he knew she wasn't in the mood for that. So they walked in quiet until they reached his car. She opened the passenger door and got in, he followed.

As soon as he started up the car, she lost it. She yelled and fussed and pounded her hands on the seat and door and dashboard. Dean cringed a little, saying a silent apology to his Baby. But he understood. He more than anyone understood having to get out your anger in almost violent ways. Hell, he'd taken his anger out on his Baby when he was rebuilding her after his dad had died. Yeah, he definitely understood.

When she calmed she tried to regain her breathing. She hadn't done any damage, but he could tell by the change in her face that she'd suddenly realized what she had done to his car. "I'm sorry. I'm just so -"

"I understand. This ole girl has taken a lot of beatings. Especially ones out of anger," he tried to reassure her.

She sighed, finally getting her breathing back to normal. "I'm going to leave."

Dean's head shot from the direction of the road to Emma. "What? Leave? You can't leave!"

"Why?" she asked defensively. "Because I'm some damn savior of a cursed town and am responsible for everyone's happiness?"

"No," Dean shot back. "Because you have a son; you're a mother. And you can't just _leave_ him."

"I'll bring him with me."

"You're going to _abduct _your own kid?"

"I can't leave him here! Not with all these crazy people! Not with Regina the sociopath or Gold the sleazy or Jefferson the kidnapper or August the delusional! Why can't I just take him? He's _my_ son!"

"Emma," he said, trying to calm her. When she finally did, she looked over at Dean. If they had been paying attention, they would have heard "Say You Love Me" by Fleetwood Mac playing on the radio.

She looked out the window. Her sigh was one of defeat. "What do you care?"

That hurt. But he heard a familiar tang of defense that he once held. The thought that no one cared, and why should they.

"Whatever you believe, or don't believe, you _know_ that I wasn't lying before when I made you my promise. And I mean it."

He pulled up next to the station and parked the car. He thought he saw a flash of sympathy and understanding in her eyes. But in another instant, it was gone. Replaced with that cold, hard shell he'd seen when they first met.

"I don't _need_ anything from you, Dean. Hell, we've known each other for a day. You don't even _know _me," she said, venom in her voice.

He wasn't going down without a fight though. "I probably know you better than anyone here."

"I refuse to admit that some damn ghostbuster _knows_ me. You're just as crazy as the rest. Keep your bull shit away from my son and stay away from Mary Margaret. I am leaving and I couldn't give a damn whether or not you decide to stay here," she spat out as she threw open her door and stepped out. "Goodbye, Dean Winchester."

* * *

**I finally got some wi-fi! Lol I'm working on the next chapter now. I thought the title of the chapter was perfect considering Emma being pissed and Sam hanging out with Ruby/Red! ;)**

**"Dede42: Not surprising that I was right and that Emma doesn't believe August, just like in the episode, and Dean is gonna need to do some SERIOUS damage control in order to convince Emma that the curse and everything else is true. Question: Is Cas still stuck in town, and can he help? Update soon! :D" I hope this chapter answered that! Lol **

**"xxxJusta1991xxx: Great chapter! Loved the way you described Emma's emotions at that scene! :) I wonder what Emma will do now :) Can't wait for new chapter! :))" I'm glad you liked it! I tried to go with the emotions I saw on the screen mixed with how I assumed Emma would be feeling. Our savior is pretty stoic most of the time when it comes to expressing her emotions! On the outside, that is! **


	16. Chapter 16: Making the Date

**The Inn**

"Cas - you can't - you have to - ugh," Sam said, trying to get the angel to dry off before he put his clothes back on. Were all angels like this? Unaware of human customs, to this extent?

When Cas was finally properly dressed, Sam asked, "So what did you do last night while we were asleep?"

"I walked around. Went to the top of the library and sat for a little while. Found out that there's a mine shaft that contains a broken glass coffin from the other world. And a dragon. Oh, and there's a really fascinating hive of bees in one of the trees in the forest."

"Wait a minute," Sam interrupted, "did you say dragon?"

"Yes," Cas said plainly. "I think the coffin belonged to Snow White; it looked like the same one from the picture in that book."

"Cas, focus. Dragon?" Sam tried to get him to concentrate.

"Just one though. She's not really a dragon, but Regina stuck her that way."

"Geeze, that sounds like Maleficent," Sam said facetiously.

Cas's eyes squinted, "How did you know?"

Sam scoffed and shook his head, still not used to the fact that every Disney movie he'd ever watched was real. "Lucky guess."

Sam looked at the clock; he had just enough time to go find a picnic basket and maybe a blanket. "Look Cas, I've got to go find some place around here that sells baskets. You know, you don't have to stay here the whole time."

"If I leave town I can't get back."

"Unless you get invited, right? Well if you want to come back or if we need you, you can just use your phone. You still have it, right?" Sam asked.

Cas pulled out his hand-me-down cell that the boys had given him. "The voice won't tell me I'm running out of minutes?"

Sam chuckled, "No Cas, you'll be fine."

Then Cas was gone. Sam hated when he did that.

* * *

After about 10 minutes of walking around, Sam decided that Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop was the best option of finding a basket. There weren't any decent shops or malls for that kind of thing, not that he was surprised.

He walked in and the first thing that caught his eye were two _very_ creepy looking marionette puppets sitting on the counter. "What can I help you with, dearie?"

Sam spun around and found an older gentleman with a cane walking from the back room. The man was dressed in a spiffy suit and carried himself with importance.

"Oh, um. I was just looking for a picnic basket. You wouldn't happen to have one, would you?" he asked tentatively.

The man smiled a sly smile and Sam couldn't help but wonder who his counterpart was. "I do. Belonged to a Miss Muffit, I believe."

Sam chuckled, wondering if the man was serious. Then again, he probably was. "I guess it's my lucky day, then."

"Going on a picnic? Or shopping for a new hand bag?" he asked with a playful smile.

"Picnic," Sam answered, looking around at the other items on display. He wondered if these were items from the _other_ world. Especially the Aladdin looking lamp he carefully inspected. He continued to walk around; a hand on display caught his attention. _A hand?_ Sam thought, _the hell? _Before he could keep looking, Mr. Gold returned with a decent sized basket, perfect for what Sam had in mind.

"I threw in a blanket; it's sort of a set," he said with a smile. "Who's the lucky lady?"

Sam became uneasy, not sure if he wanted to start any gossip, aware of the reputation the waitress had. "Ruby, from the diner."

Mr. Gold smiled wide, "Lovely girl. Might I suggest something else I _know_ she would like?"

Sam shrugged. It wouldn't hurt to bring a present. That's what you sometimes did on dates, right?

Mr. Gold leaned down and retrieved something from under the counter. When he unwrapped it, bright red fabric caught Sam's attention. Sam lifted it up carefully and inspected it. At first he thought it was a blanket, but the hood at the top finally caught his gaze along with a string to hold it around your neck. It wasn't a jacket or hoodie; more like an old style wrap Sam recognized from the old movies.

Suddenly, it clicked. _Little Red Riding Hood_. And this was the red hood. He looked up at Mr. Gold questionably. The man just stood there with a knowing smile that made Sam very uneasy. "And how do you _know_ she'll like this?" Sam asked.

"I made it for her, a _long_ time ago." _Was he some kind of seamstress? _Sam thought. _"_ Might be best not to give it to her yet. It's more of a second or third date kind of present, don't you think?" he gave Sam a wink.

_Was Ruby the girl from the story? _ Sam questioned. She did wear a lot of red. She had a grandmother, Ms. Lucas. But he couldn't remember much from the folk tale. He'd have to go read about her in the book after their date.

As he walked back to the diner, he began to wonder. _If she's Red Riding Hood, then I wonder who the Big Bad Wolf is?_

* * *

**Granny's**

Dean was pissed. He was more than pissed. If he were being honest with himself, he would admit that he was hurt. The things Emma had said to him hurt in a way that he hadn't felt in, he couldn't even remember how long.

And the worst of it was, he wasn't even mad at Emma. He understood. He sympathized. He just wanted her to trust him like she had the night they talked. Back when she didn't think he was just another crazy.

It was plain and simple: he didn't want her to leave. Yes, she had a curse to break and a stupid destiny. But it was more than that. He could tell that she loved it here. From the way she talked, this had been her only real home; ever. And her son was here, he needed her. Despite the mayor also being an evil witch, literally, he could tell that Henry wasn't the happiest of kids in his home-life. If there was one thing Dean knew about, it was destructive parenting. He could see the signs.

Dean cleaned off the rest of the pie from his fork when the bell on the diner door rang. He didn't look up until a small figure propped themselves in the bar stool next to his. _Speak of the devil_, "Hey kid."

"What's wrong?" Henry asked. The kid was perceptive, Dean had to give him that. Probably got it from his mom.

"It's Emma. Seems our August friend made matters worse today for Operation Cobra. She doesn't believe now more than ever," Dean said with a sigh as he took another sip of his coffee.

The light in the kid's eyes went out. His face slowly fell with each word that left Dean's mouth. "You can't give up on her! She needs us!" Henry pleaded.

Dean looked at the boy. Desperation filled his eyes and Dean felt his heart ache. "She doesn't want my help, kid. I don't want to give up on her, but she doesn't want to even go near me. What am I supposed to do? She wants to leave."

"She can't leave!" Dean swore he saw the kid's eyes start to water. "She promised!"

* * *

**I had way too much fun with Cas taking a shower lol. Just to let you guys know, I don't think he's really that incompetent. I just saw the opportunity and I took it. Anyway, Ruby and Sam are going on a date! I'm starting to really love their pairing. They have so much in common that I didn't even realize until I started writing this chapter and the next. I wonder what Sam is going to do with that red hood... Also, poor Dean and Henry :( **

**"Dede42: Ouch, looks like Dean has a real fight on his hands and if he doesn't hit August for screwing things up, I'll be VERY surprised. Update soon!" I think Dean feels like punch a lot of guys in Emma's life who screwed her over! *cough* Neal *cough***

**"xxxJusta1991xxx: Wow! Poor Emma... I love the way you showed her there and even if I didn't like that Emma yelled at Dean but I think you kept her in character :) I think this is how Emma would react :) Amazing chapter! :))" I'm very glad that you think I kept her in character! I thought our dear Emma would definitely be the type to lash out first, think later. Kind of like Dean's shoot first, ask questions later. **

**"Isabelle Lost: Love for both the bros! Keep up the great work, can't wait to read more! Is Emma the only one Regina is going to try and poison, or are our favorite demon fighting bros also targets?" Thank you! :) And the next chapter (which I'm going to post in like two minutes) should definitely answer that question ;) **

**"Grace: I cried at the end of chapter 15." Crying is the highest form of flattery! Lol. **


	17. Chapter 17: Beginnings and Ends

**The Beach**

Ruby led Sam down to the beach. Well, it wasn't really a beach. Just a stretch if sand that met the water line. But Sam had to admit, the sight was nice.

Sam laid down the blanket and Ruby set down the basket. "I can't remember the last time I went on a picnic," Ruby said as she sat down next to Sam. She had changed out of her uniform before they left; now wearing red and black plaid pants and a red sweater. She also had on a black hat that sat on top of her long dark brown hair with red streaks. Sam began thinking to himself as she started pulling out some items from the basket. _If she's not Red Riding Hood, she had to be the Red Queen. Or wasn't there some story with Snow White and some girl in red? I need to read the rest of that book_.

Sam took out the wine and glasses and he began to pour. "Did you ever go on picnics with your parents?"

Ruby's face dropped and her hands began to fiddle together. "My parents died a long time ago," she whispered quietly.

Sam felt a pang of familiarity in her voice, recalling all the times he'd answered the same way when someone would ask about his mother growing up. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I appreciate it, but it's fine. I was very young when it happened. Granny took me in and she's the only family I've got. I mean, I've got friends and all; well sort of. I guess Mary Margaret or Ashley would be the closest I have to friends. But that diner and inn has pretty much been my life. I always thought I'd move out of this small town and go somewhere exotic – like Boston. But when Granny had her heart attack, I couldn't leave. She needed me. And honestly, I don't know what I would do if I ever left this place."

Sam nodded, understanding the loyalty that fell with being in a family. He had been lucky enough to get out; even if it were for a little while. Those four years meant so much to him and he learned a hell of a lot. Not just about school; but about being normal. Plus, that's where he had his Jess. How could he love anything more than the time he'd spent with her?

The sound of Ruby unwrapping her sandwich caught his attention back to the present. He felt a bit guilty, as he did whenever he found himself attracted to anyone new. He knew he had to move on; and he had, a few times. The closest he'd ever gotten was Sarah from the creepy family portrait case or Madison from the werewolf case. Would he ever find something that even came close to what he had with Jess? Was there even such a thing? And the question that haunted Sam the most on nights when he'd think about this kind of stuff: did he _deserve _it?

"So what about you?" Ruby asked, breaking his spell of thought. "You and your brother seem pretty close. Are you that way with the rest of your family?"

Sam cleared his throat, trying to get the last bit of his bite down before he started to answer. "It's just me and my brother, actually. Our mom died when I was just 6 months old; dad died a few years ago. My brother and I have sort of been on a road trip ever since; trying to find our way, so to speak."

"A road trip that lasts a few years?" Ruby asked, raising her eye brow. "What do you do? Money-wise, that is. Road trips like that can't be cheap."

Sam chuckled, "We find work. We're both pretty good at a lot of little things. And we know a little about a lot of things; just enough to keep us handy. We've met a lot of hospitable people along the way."

"So, sounds like there's not much time for a love life."

"There isn't," he answered plainly.

She shook her head and smirked, "No girlfriends? Hook-ups? Long distance relationships? What are you, some kind of monk?"

He laughed, appreciating her bluntness. "To tell you the truth, there was a girlfriend. In college. We were together for quite a few years. But, uh," he felt his voice crack a little, that was something he couldn't break even after all these years, "she died. That's when my brother and I started our little road trip," when he looked up he noticed Ruby's gaze was distance. Her mouth was open and it was like she was frozen. It was that same look he recognized earlier when he thought he was breaking through the curse. "Ruby, what is it?"

She finally blinked a few times and shook her head. "I just, I thought. I just got these weird flashes. When you were talking about your girlfriend dying. I had a boyfriend who died – I think. At least, I have memories of it." She finally looked Sam in the eye. She must have realized how insensitive she was sounding, because her face dropped and she covered her mouth. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. That was so rude of me," she reached for Sam's hand. "I'm so sorry for your loss, truly I am. I don't know what just came over me; I must sound like a complete jerk."

Sam smiled and squeezed her hand. "Ruby, it's ok." Maybe she was remembering her counterpart life and that's why the facts and details were hazy.

Suddenly static noise came from Sam's bag that snapped both of their attention away from each other. Sam pulled out the walkie-talkie. "Sam?!"

"Henry?" Sam asked. Ruby raised an eye brow, probably wondering why this town newbie was making contact with the mayor and the sheriff's son.

"Sam hurry!" Henry said through the talkie. "We have a code black! Come to the diner!"

* * *

**The Bug**

Emma felt awful. She'd been mean. She'd been more than mean – she'd been hurtful. Dean hadn't deserved what she said. But she had been mad. More than mad: furious.

She didn't want to be mean to Dean, but she knew that it would make her leaving that much easier for him. And for her. He wouldn't have time to miss her if he was caught up being mad at her. He probably wasn't even thinking about her; why should he care if some girl he'd just met was leaving a town? She didn't want him to think about her. She wanted him to leave this town and move on with his life; just like she was doing.

If she had said that to a mirror, her superpower would be going off like crazy.

After she got back to the station she'd spent about thirty minutes crying. She was so overwhelmed with everything: Henry, August, Regina, Dean. After the thirty minutes, she straightened up. _You can't cry_, she reminded herself. _Crying doesn't help anything. _She remembered repeating this mantra to herself numerous times throughout her life. Emma could recall a total of eight times when she let herself have a really long, intense cry. At age three when her first family sent her back; she'd spent that entire night asking what was wrong with her, why didn't they _want _her. At eight when she had to move to a new foster home and had to leave the only friend she'd made. At ten when she overheard her foster parents say that Emma was the most troublesome child they had, and it almost wasn't worth the extra cash they got to have to deal with her. At fifteen when the older kids she'd been hanging out with had abandoned her in a sketchy area downtown. She had no money, no transportation, and no way of contacting someone. She'd been scared out of her mind and ended up walking all the way back home. At seventeen on her first night in jail and a few weeks later on the night she took the pregnancy test. Then 9 months later at eighteen, the night after they took Henry from her. And the last was the night Graham died in her arms. Each time she wiped the tears away from her cheeks and repeated the mantra: _Crying doesn't help anything. _

After she cleaned herself up, she finally made a definite decision. She was going to leave.

It was what was best for Henry. Archie had been right; her being here had only caused him to regress into the fantasy world he'd created. It had already endangered his life once, who's to say he wouldn't do it again? And the worst was how her presence was affecting Regina. As crazy as she _knew _that woman was, she had raised Henry. And Emma had given him up. Emma knew she was pushing the law as is; she didn't want to push any further by opting for the custody battle. It would only end badly for Henry, having to decide between both of his mothers. That's when she came up with her plan.

Emma parked in front of Regina's house and made her way up the walk-way. She recalled the first time she'd walked this path; when Henry had come for her. When she decided that she was going to stay, just for a week. A week that turned into almost a year.

She rang the doorbell and a surprised Regina answered it. "We need to talk," Emma stated bluntly.

Regina looked like she wasn't sure what to do. Finally, she found the right words. "Yes I, uh, I imagine we do. I was just about to call you. Come right in," Regina offered, gesturing for Emma to enter.

Emma walked in and started to look around. It was something she did instinctively; making sure her surroundings were clear. She also wanted to make sure Henry wasn't around, she didn't need him overhearing what she was about to tell Regina.

"Do what you're so skilled at and make yourself at home," Regina retorted, itching to have the upper hand. Regina waited for Emma to finish looking around, "I believe you came to see me."

Emma took a breath, "Right. Look, this isn't easy. I think that this – whatever is between us, needs to end."

"At last, something we can agree on."

"I want to make a deal with you about Henry."

Regina's head tilted and her mouth formed a smirk, "I'm not making any deals with you."

"I'm leaving town," Emma interrupted.

Genuine surprise colored Regina's face, "What?"

"This," Emma took a breath, "what we're doing is a problem. And I'm gonna go, but I have conditions. I still get to see Henry, I get to visit and spend time – whatever."

Regina crossed her arms and her gaze turned stern. "And you get to see him. You're still in his life."

An exasperated laugh left Emma from the pit of her throat. She knew this wasn't going to be easy, but it had to be done. Regina _had _to agree to this deal. "Look, in any deal both parties are a little unhappy." Emma could feel the tears behind her eyes, but she refused to let them show. Her voice, however, was letting on more than Emma was comfortable with Regina knowing. "But let's be honest: we both know the world where I'm not in his life no longer exists. And there's no one who can do anything about that." She wanted Regina to know she meant business, that the mayor wasn't going to push her around just because she was giving a little.

A _ding _went off from the kitchen. "You're right," Regina admitted with a deep sigh.

Emma felt her entire body relax.

"Would you mind following me for a moment?" Regina asked, pointing behind her to the kitchen. Emma nodded, following her. When they got to the kitchen Regina went straight to the stove and pulled out a pan. "So, what _are _you proposing?"

"I don't know, just figure it out as we go."

"But he's my son," it wasn't a question.

The two women stared at each other for a moment. Emma wasn't sure if this were a threat or Regina's way of defending what was hers. Emma decided to let it go _this _time. If they were going to come to an agreement, there had to be flexibility. "Yeah," she said quietly.

A relieved smiled spread across the mayor's face. Emma decided this was her time to leave; she turned around without saying a word and started for the door.

"Oh, Miss Swan?" Emma turned back around and watched as Regina opened a cabinet door. She came back with a tupperware container. "Maybe a little something for the road?" she pointed to what was on the pan.

"Thanks," Emma said, finally looking down at what Regina had cooked up. Two triangle pasties sat on the tray.

"If we're going to be in each other's lives, it's time we start being cordial." For the second time during that visit Emma felt her entire body relax, thankful that this entire ordeal turned out well. Regina scooped the pastry off the tray and into the container. "My famous turnovers. Old recipe, but delicious." She held the container out for Emma to take, the biggest smile Emma had ever seen painted across her face.

Emma hesitated a bit; she thought she noticed a flicker of evil flash in Regina's eyes. She shook her head; she'd been listening to Henry's stories too much. She took the container and nodded, "Thank you."

"I do hope you like apples."

* * *

**Since you guys are so awesome, I decided to post both of the chapters I've been working on! Hopefully that will make up for taking so long between Chapter 15 and 16. The only reason it took so long between 16 and 17 is because I wasn't sure how I wanted to structure it. Anyway, I hope you guys like it! :) **


	18. Chapter 18: Kindred Spirits

**The Inn**

Ruby and Sam made their way to Granny's, Sam carrying the basket which held the trash and disposables while Ruby held on to the blanket. When they walked in, Sam noticed Ms. Lucas peeking at them from the kitchen area. He chuckled.

They walked through the diner and toward the back room where the inn entrance was. Ruby stopped when they finally got somewhere secluded from the busy eyes of the locals. "Thank you, I can't tell you how much this meant to me. I had a very good time."

Sam smiled, "Me too. I'm glad we did this."

Ruby didn't let him say much more, she rose up on her toes and wrapped her arms around Sam's neck. Surprised, Sam almost missed his opportunity to kiss her back. But he quickly composed himself and leaned into the kiss, placing his hand on her cheek.

She pulled away, her cheeks were almost as red as the streaks in her hair. "See you later, Sam."

* * *

Sam got out of the shower and began to dry himself off. Henry asked to meet up with him, so Sam had to hurry. He hadn't said what the problem was; but code black _couldn't _be good. He'd only given him about a sixty minute window. Sam had fifteen minutes left. Ruby was polite enough, not asking what exactly Sam was doing with the ten year old.

As soon as he pulled on his jeans and shirt, someone knocked on the door. When he opened it, a dark skinned older gentleman stood in front of him. "Sam Winchester?"

Sam nodded. This guy didn't sit well with him; he looked like he hadn't seen sunlight in a _long _time and his smile was mischievous.

"I have something for you from downstairs," the man held out a red tupperware container.

Sam looked at it questionably, "I didn't order anything."

"No, you didn't. This is from Ruby, actually. She made it for you and asked me to deliver it. She said it's a thank you for the date earlier."

Sam took the container from the man and looked him over. "I haven't seen you around; who are you?"

"I've kind of been on a mini vacation. I work in the kitchen of the diner, which is why you've probably never seen me. I only get dragged out when my services are needed. Sidney Glass, at your service," he held out his hand for Sam to shake. Timidly, Sam took the man's hand and shook it, giving him half a smile. "I'll make sure to report to Miss Ruby that you accepted the desert. She mentioned that you should eat it right away; it just came out of the oven."

"Oh, yes," Sam said, finally deciding to open the container to see what was inside, "tell her I appreciate it. Um," he looked down at the pastry, "what is it?"

"The diner's famous turnover. I hope you like apple."

* * *

**The Diner**

"I've called Sam. Come on, Dean!" Henry said, pulling at the sleeve of his leather jacket, "We've gotta go to Emma's! We have to stop her!"

Dean sighed, it pained him to see Henry this way. "Kid, she doesn't want to see me. She made that _very _clear."

"She didn't mean it. That's just how she is. She tries to push everyone away before they have the opportunity to leave her and give up on her. You should know, you're the same way!"

"And how would you know?" Dean asked, almost insulted that this character trait was so easily identified to the ten year old.

Henry just looked him in the eye with such an intense glare that Dean had to look away. This _child _was too smart; too intuitive. He definitely got that from Emma.

"Ms. Blanchard once showed us this painting called Kindred Spirits when we were learning about landscapes in art. After class, I asked her what the title meant. She said that the basic definition was two people who had the same attitude or interests; but she always felt like it was something deeper than that. She said that to her, kindred spirits were one soul split into two people. That the bond the two shared went beyond similarities and the two connected on such a level that when they finally get together, it's like they were never supposed to be apart," Henry said the words with such ease and confidence that Dean's mouth had fallen. Who was this kid?

"And you see that between your mom and me?"

"You don't?" Henry asked, head tilted and eye brow risen.

Dean chuckled. "You know, I thought I knew quite a bit about this world. But you, kid; you've got one hell of a grip on things."

"Thanks – now come on!" Henry pulled on the sleeve of his jacket, again.

Dean shook his head, "But that doesn't change anything. Look, if she wants to see or talk to me, she will."

Henry shook his head. "You can't give up, you're the hero."

"I'm no one's hero, kid."

* * *

**The Apartment**

Emma started packing her things as soon as she got back from Regina's; she didn't want to waste any more time than she had to. Plus, her head was swamped with everything and physically doing something was the only thing that could clear her head.

She was sad about having to leave Henry. About not being able to see him every day or talk to him on the talkie. Heck, she'd even miss sneaking around with him behind Regina's back. But she would make sure that Henry _knew _that she would come back for him. That this wasn't goodbye.

When her thoughts weren't on Henry, they were on Dean. What the hell was wrong with her? How could this guy she met _yesterday _be affecting her this way? Someone that she'd shared basically her entire life story to after he'd done the same. Someone that she'd shared the most take-your-breath-away kiss with. Someone who said he would be there for her. How could he make the promises he made? It wasn't fair. He didn't know what the future held; whether he would actually stay here. Or whether he could actually _help_ – despite whatever claims he made about hunting monsters.

While no one had ever made such a promise to Emma, she knew better. She'd been on the disappointment end of a promise more times than she could count. She'd been promised a family, parents, a home, a pet, friends, love… Tallahassee.

Tallahassee had always been more than just a _place _to Emma. It was security, love, a home. She thought back to the time when she was younger and "borrowed" one of the older foster girl's Barbie dolls. She would pretend the blonde haired plastic doll was her, and the Ken doll was her future husband. She would make them play house together, doing things she saw married couples do on television: go on walks with their pets together, play at the park with their children together, go to the grocery store together, throw a BBQ in their dream home together, sit on the couch and watch TV together. All these mundane activities that the two did _together. _Because that's what Emma thought the perfect union was. Two people who loved each other enough to never want to be separated.

Once the owner of the Barbies found out that Emma was "borrowing" her toys, she snatched them away and told on Emma. She never got to play with the dolls again and was never given any as presents. From then on Emma would draw pictures of stick-figures, acting out the things she used to play.

If she ever had a daughter, she'd buy her enough Barbies to drown in.

"So." A voice from the front door startled Emma. She dropped the t-shirt she'd been folding and spun around to face the music. "You're leaving."

"Mary Margaret," Emma started.

She held up her hand to stop Emma from continuing. "What I don't understand is why you didn't talk to me about this. We're friends, Emma. Family – as you once said. What, were you just going to leave without even telling me? If I hadn't gotten home from work early and walked in on you packing would you have just left?"

Emma sighed, "It's been a _long _day and it was kind of a last minute thing. I was going to say bye."

"You're running."

"I'm not running."

Mary Margaret, rather forcefully, dropped her bag onto the table. "You're regressing into the person you were before you got here. I thought you'd changed."

"You were wrong."

Emma watched as the woman before her crossed her arms and shook her head. "What about Henry? You were all set to be his mother the other day, and now you're just going to leave him?"

"No. I'll visit. And I'll visit you, too, Mary Margaret." Emma filled the space between them and grabbed for Mary Margaret's hands. She still wouldn't look her in the eye, so Emma squeezed her hands. "I'm sorry. But this is what's best. You told me before that I had to do what was best for Henry. This is it. I've talked with Regina and I'm about to talk with Henry. Everything will be ok. You're my best friend, Mary Margaret. Probably the best friend that I've _ever _had. I wouldn't let you go so quickly."

She finally looked up at Emma, her eyes were filled with tears. She took a deep breath and nodded, pulling out a weak smile. They both reached for a hug at the same time, meeting in the middle.

When Mary Margaret pulled away she dried her eyes and grabbed her bag. "Alright, well I'll get out of your way so that you can have some privacy with Henry." She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. "So, what about Dean?"

"_What about_ Dean?" Emma asked, glaring at her roommate.

Mary Margaret shook her head and shrugged. "You guys seemed to be hitting it off. I thought that maybe -"

"Maybe what? He's just a stranger passing through and I'm leaving."

"I thought that _maybe _you were actually letting down your wall again, ready to let love in."

Emma's brow creased. "_Love_? We hardly know each other."

Mary Margaret shrugged again. "I don't really know a lot about love; my track record isn't the best. I only knew David for an evening before I found myself falling for him."

"And look at how that turned out for you," Emma said, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth. Her roommate cringed, obviously affected by what Emma had said. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're right. It didn't turn out well for me. But you and Dean; there's just something _there. _It's almost like you're kindred spirits or something," Mary Margret looked down at the counter, obviously deep in her own thoughts. "Hey, what's that?"

Emma looked over and noticed her gesturing to the container. "It's a turnover. Want it? I'm not too keen on pastries."

Mary Margaret opened the container and scooped the turnover on to a plate. "What kind is it?"

"Apple."

Emma watched as Mary Margaret made a disgusted face. "Never mind. I don't care for apples. I had a bad run in with one once."

* * *

**Ok guys, the pieces are set - the game's in motion! I actually got really sad when I started writing about Emma playing with the dolls. Also, the fact that little Emma uses a Ken doll as her Barbie self's husband and that Dean has been called more than once "Ken doll" was just too perfect to pass up. **

**"Dede42: Danger! Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! Don't eat the apple turnover! Don't!" You're not going to like the next chapter, my dear friend. **

**"xxxJusta1991xxx: yay Thank you for updating 2 chapters! I loved them! I'm starting to like Ruby/Sam together ;) And Emma took Regina's turnovers! Season finale is getting closer! ;) I wonder what will happen in next chapters! :)" Prepare yourself! The time is near! ;) **


	19. Chapter 19: Forbidden Fruit

**The Diner**

Dean was alone. Emma had called Henry on his talkie asking to meet him at her apartment. Dean felt a pang in his chest when he heard her voice through the speaker. Henry had insisted that Dean come with him, but Dean refused. Henry had left angry.

_"I thought you were here to help; to save us. I was wrong." _The words still echoed in his head long after Henry had left.

Dean felt awful. He'd let Emma down; now he was letting Henry down. What was the point of saving the world if he couldn't even rest a ten year old's mind.

A vibration in Dean's pocket pulled his attention away from his thoughts.

"Hey Cas," he answered. "What's the sitch?"

"Um, I believe it's a shortened version of the word situation."

Dean shook his head, rubbing his face. "Forget it Cas. What are you calling for?"

"Dean, there's something wrong."

His instincts took over. "Alright Cas, get your feathery ass over here."

"Hello, Dean."

He jumped off of his stool, he still wasn't used to Cas pulling this stunt. "Cas, personal space! We talked about this." He looked around to see if anyone had noticed the sudden Houdini trick the angel had done; luckily there weren't very many in the diner. No one had noticed.

"We don't have time for this. We have to find Sam. There's something wrong." Cas disappeared.

"Son of a bitch -" Dean breathed, slamming his fist on the counter.

* * *

**Gold's Shop**

Regina walked in the shop with a proud stride, a smirk resting on her deep red lips, "I hope you brought travel insurance, because no one's going anywhere."

Mr. Gold closed the book he was inspecting, "Oh, really? And why's that?"

"Because I found a solution to my Swan and Winchester problem."

He raised his eye brows, "Oh, yes?"

She leaned across the counter, "An old reliable solution."

"A sleeping curse," he said reluctantly. "Might I ask how you managed to obtain one here in Storybrooke?"

"By sacrificing the last bit of magic I had left."

"So, you made magic _from _magic," his sly smile appeared, "Well, I'm sure I don't have to remind you that all magic comes with a price."

Regina's eyes narrowed, "Then you can pay it. Because now the curse is gonna be stronger than ever, and you will be right here where you belong." Mr. Gold turned and began walking to another counter. "Don't you understand? I _won_. So whatever plan you had; whatever reason you wanted the curse broken… too bad. Because it's never going to happen."

She spun the globe next to her and made her exit.

* * *

**The Apartment**

Emma wasn't ready for this. Ever since she got off the talkie with Henry she'd been pacing the apartment running everything she was going to say through her mind. She didn't expect this to go well. She'd never had to deal with kids before, but she saw how they acted on tv and in movies. She expected him to throw a fit, to scream at her, to threaten her, to cry, and even to run away. Emma shook her head, how was she going to handle this?

A knock at the door caused her to jump. Her heart immediately began to speed up as the apprehension took over her body. She opened the door with a trembling hand.

"Emma you can't do this!" Henry said, storming his way past her and into the apartment.

She sighed, she'd really hoped he wouldn't have been aware of what she was doing. "Henry," she said soothingly, trying to calm him.

"You can't leave Storybrooke!"

He'd calmed down a little, but she could still see the terror in his eyes. "I can't stay. I spoke to Regina, and we made a deal. I'm going to be able to see you; just not every day."

"No! No, you can't trust her!" he pleaded.

"I have to. It's my only choice. It's what's best for you, Henry. Every time I fight her, someone else gets hurt," she said the rehearsed lines with such a quick breath that she had to consciously make sure that she was breathing.

"No, no, no! You're just scared! You and Dean, both! This happens to all heroes; it's just the low moment before you fight back!" Henry said with such confidence that it nearly broke her.

She fell to her knees and the tears she'd spent so long trying to hold back came falling. Her voice broke as she replied, "Henry! This isn't a story! This is reality. And things have to change: you can't skip school, you can't run away, and," she clung on to his jacket as she tried her best to make one more attempt to get through to her son, "you can't believe in curses."

"You – you really don't believe?" the way he said it made her heart break. She could just imagine how he were feeling, his entire reality crushing down around him. How was she supposed to reply?

"I…" she couldn't finish her sentence. Her eyes were filled with so much water it was getting hard to see. Her throat was so lumped the words kept getting stuck. And her chest was so tangled she could barely breathe. "This is how it has to be right now. I made a deal," her words were barely a whisper, "and I used my super power: she's telling the truth. She's gonna take really good care of you."

"Yes, but she wants you dead," he said plainly.

"Come on, Henry!" she pleaded.

He wasn't giving up. "You're the _only _one that can stop her!"

Emma rose from her knees and crossed her arms, "Stop her from what? All she's ever done is fight for you. This just," she took a deep sigh, "got out of hand. I'm sorry."

She watched as he began to shake his head. This was it: here came the yells, the threats, the 'I hate yous'. She expected him to turn around and never speak to her again.

Instead he did something that completely shocked her: he hugged her. Her heart dropped as it took a moment for her to react to the physical contact. There weren't many hugs under her belt throughout her lifetime. So naturally, they'd always made her uncomfortable. But this; this was the most satisfying feeling in the world. She wrapped her arms around her little boy and held on to him like she'd never get this opportunity again.

* * *

**The Diner**

"Is everything ok?" Ruby asked as she walked up to Dean cautiously from the other side of the bar counter. Obviously she'd heard the loud slam of Dean's fist.

"Ruby? I thought you were on a date with Sam?" Dean asked, shocked by her dressed in her waitress uniform.

She smiled, "Well we were. But about two hours ago he got a call from Henry on some walkie-talkie asking him to meet him. Something about a code black. Personally I think he should have gone with red."

"Henry told me the same thing; but he never met with him. I tried calling Sam, but I haven't gotten an answer."

Her smile dropped, "We parted ways here. He went up to his room and I went back to work. I haven't heard from him since."

"Oh that's my fault," Ms. Lucas' voice interrupted them as she walked from the back room carrying a large stack of clean dishes and glasses. "I forgot to pass the message along."

"What message?" Dean asked.

"Not you, dear. Ruby." Ruby's eye brows rose. "Sam called a little bit ago from his room. Gosh, has it been two hours already? I've been so busy."

Ruby held out her hands to her grandmother, trying to make her get to the point. Dean thought he noticed Ruby look at him from the corner of her eye; he wondered if maybe she felt his apprehension. "Granny. What did he say?"

"He wanted to thank you for the dessert you sent up to him. He said he was just about to eat it, as you suggested, and he was very appreciative of you thinking of him."

Ruby's eye brows creased and her expression dropped, "Are you sure that was the message? Did you hear something wrong?"

Granny was insulted, "Dammit girl. I may be well on in years but these ears work just fine! I know what I heard because when he told me that you baked him something I laughed for a good minute. You? Baking? Now that's something crazy!"

Ruby turned to Dean; he felt his heart start to beat a little faster. Her expression was not a good one. "Dean, I didn't bake him anything. And I certainly didn't send him anything."

Dean didn't hesitate. He jumped from his stool and ran towards the stairs. He knew Ruby would be following him, but he didn't have time to care.

He didn't fumble with the keys nor did he miss the lock. He had to get to Sam; there was no room for mistakes. When he finally opened the door, his heart dropped.

Sam was laying on the floor.

"Sam?" Dean breathed. He didn't respond. "Sammy? Sammy!?" A bitten turnover sat in his lifeless hand.

* * *

**The Apartment**

"Where did you get that?" she heard him say. He unwrapped himself from her and she turned to see what he was referring to. The turnover on the plate.

"Regina gave it to me."

He walked over and smelled it. "Apple!"

"So?"

"You can't eat that. It's poison," he said, so sure of himself.

Her eye brows creased, "What?"

"Don't you see? The deal; it was all a trick to get you to eat _that_. To get rid of the savior. I bet she made one for Dean and Sam too."

He was still talking in his code. Hadn't she gotten through to him? What was it going to take to end this? "Henry, come on. Why would she do that when I _just _told her I was gonna go?"

"Because as long as you're alive you're a threat to the curse!"

She didn't know what to do; she didn't know what to say. "Henry, you've got to stop thinking like this."

"But it's the truth! Dean and Sam believe! And you leaving and Dean leaving isn't gonna change that!"

"I'll prove it to you," she reached for the turnover. The only way Henry was going to believe that his mother was not the evil queen and she wasn't the savior was if she ate the pastry.

Henry was too quick. He grabbed the turnover, "No!" and ran out of her grasp.

"Henry, what are you doing?" she scoffed.

He stood with the pastry in hand, "I'm sorry it had to come to this. You may not believe in the curse… or in me. But I believe in _you_. And I'm not the only one."

He took a bite of the dessert. He chewed. He swallowed. A few seconds went by and nothing happened. Emma took this as a good sign. "See? You wanna have some ice cream with that? And then we can go back to talking about -"

Henry fell to the floor.

"Henry?" Emma breathed. He didn't respond. "Henry? Henry!?" The bitten turnover fell from his lifeless hand.

* * *

**Eeeek! Gosh I'm getting so excited! This chapter has so much going on all at the same time! Just... Gah!**

**"Dede42: Yup, I'm SO dreading the next chapter and I'm praying that nothing bad happens to the Winchesters, but knowing their luck, one of them is gonna eat that evil turnover." Yes, the Winchesters have the worst luck! And of course it had to be Dean who has to deal with his little brother being cursed! Poor Dean and Emma!**

**"xxxJusta1991xxx: OMG! "Kindred spirits" killed me! Why do this to me now?! xD Anyway, I loved this chapter! :) I wonder if Sam is gonna eat turnover and if so, will Ruby wake him up? Or maybe someone will save him before or he'll figure out that something's not right and not gonna eat it? I'm really curious! :) Can't wait for new chapter! :)" Of course Sam had to eat the turnover! The Winchesters aren't that lucky! And I'm so glad you liked the chapter, even though it killed you! :) **

**"Grace: My GOD :0 KEEP GOING!" & "Its very predictable- Dean's going to wake Emma and Ruby's going to wake up Sam! (Squeals) Keep up the good work (woowho)!" I'm so glad you like it! But it ****_might _****not be that predictable! Who knows, I don't wanna spoil anything! :)**


	20. Chapter 20: Code Black

**The Hospital**

The ambulance wheeled in Henry as he laid lifeless on the gurney. Emma was right next to him, still trying to get through. "Henry, can you hear me? Come on, Henry. Wake up, please. Come on, Henry. You can do it." A nurse pulled on Emma's arm asking her to step aside. "No! I am not going anywhere!"

Finally Dr. Whale appeared, stethoscope and flashlight in hand. "There's no pupil response," he said as he opened Henry's eyes and flashed the light on them. "What happened? Did he fall, hit his head?"

Emma pulled out the turnover she'd bagged and held it up to the doctor. "He ate this. I think it's poisoned."

The doctor went back to inspecting Henry, opening his mouth and checking his throat. "His airway's clear. Did he vomit? Any convulsion or disorientation?"

She was growing impatient. She knew that _this _whatever it _really _was was the reason for Henry's state. "He took a bite of this and then he just collapsed. So run the test for arsenic or bleach or drano or whatever could've done this to him!"

"The boy is showing no symptoms that would suggest neurotoxins. So whatever's going on, _this _is not the culprit!" he grabbed the turnover and held it up to her to make his point.

Emma could barely breathe. "Well, what else could it be?" There hadn't been anything wrong with Henry all that day or the day before.

"I don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"He's going to be ok, though, right?" Emma had never felt this much despair in her life. She'd been on her own plenty of times; her life had been in danger more often than she could remember. But _never _had she been so concerned over someone else. This wasn't just someone else; this was her son. Her ten year old son who she was supposed to be taking care of. What kind of mother was she?

"Right now we just need to stabilize him, 'cause he's slipping away. Is there anything else that you can remember? Any little detail?"

She was growing impatient, "I already told you everything. Do something!"

Emma walked over to Henry's bag on the opposite desk and began to dump it out. "Look, I understand you're frustrated, Ms. Swan. I do. But I need something to treat and right now there is no explanation. It's like…"

"Emma?!" She spun around to the sound of Dean's voice.

"Dean!" She watched as Dean walked through the same doors she'd just been through, followed by a team carrying someone on a gurney.

"Emma, what's going on? What's wrong with Henry?" Dean asked once he noticed Henry in the other bed.

"Dean, Dean," she said in a pant as he ran over to her; inspecting her to see if she'd been hurt. "There's something wrong. Henry. He's… there's something wrong!"

"Sam, too." She finally looked to see who it was they were putting on the bed across from Henry. Sam was laying there, lifeless. In the same state as Henry. "Emma, what happened?"

She pulled out the bagged turnover. When Dean's eyes landed on the culprit, his eyes narrowed and a low growl left his throat. He pulled out the turnover he'd wrapped in a napkin. Her heart started to beat faster as the realization that _this _was the reason both her son and Dean's brother were in this state. "Dean, what the hell is going on?"

Dr. Whale approached Dean, "Mr. Winchester, what happened?"

"The same thing that happened to Henry, Doc. Now I need you to do your little medical mumbo jumbo and fix up my little brother pronto. Get whatever the hell kind of poison _out _of him, now!"

Dr. Whale sighed, inspecting the two similar pastries in Emma and Dean's hand. "Like I was telling Ms. Swan, there's no sign of poison! There's no explanation! It's like…"

Emma's eyes widened as she saw the items from Henry's bag sprawled across the empty bed. The book; Henry's book. The book with the stories. All the stories. The curse. Her parents. Everything.

"Like Magic," she whispered; only Dean had heard her. She picked up the book and a flash of images screened across her eyes. Henry's words came to life in her head _"Every story in this book actually happened. You should know more than anyone. Because you're in this book."_

Her breathing was so heavy that Dean grabbed her arm, "Emma, Emma. Are you ok?"

"Where's my son?" Regina's voice sounded winded as she ran through the doors and leaned over Henry's bed.

Emma felt her entire body betray her as her rage reached the highest point it had ever been. "You did this."

She grabbed the mayor's arm and pulled her into the closet. Dean was right behind them as he let the door shut behind him.

* * *

**The Diner**

Ruby had followed Dean to the hospital as they brought in Sam, but as soon as she saw Henry in a similar state she knew that the entire thing was foul play. She'd overheard Dean and Emma say that the turnover was the source of their state, though Dr. Whale had argued otherwise. She smelled something fishy about the entire thing.

She needed help. Her instincts told her to run to Mary Margaret; though she wasn't really sure why. _She's Emma's roommate and Henry's teacher_, she'd reasoned. So she'd left the hospital in search for the school teacher.

When she made it to the hospital she saw Mary Margaret talking with David outside her car. Her heart went out to the poor woman; she'd been through a hell of a lot for the sake of love. First the affair, then being set up for murder – and in the end her and David still weren't together. Though any idiot could see that they were mad for each other.

Ruby watched as David dropped his head and Mary Margaret turned away to get in her car. Ruby ran up to the car just as David walked away; she noticed he was wiping his cheek as if he had been crying.

She knocked on the window and watched as Mary Margaret jumped; she'd been crying too. She opened the door, "Hey, Ruby."

"Are you ok?" she asked. Ruby and Mary Margaret had never been _really _close. Sure, they'd gone out together on girls night and they hung out every now and then. But Ruby always felt like she didn't have much of a life outside of Granny and the diner. But in that moment, something deep in Ruby's heart ached to make sure the woman in front of her was ok. Some nostalgic feeling that her and Mary Margaret were connected.

Mary Margaret just shook her head and wiped her eyes. "Nothing. Just David. He's leaving and asked me to give him a reason to stay. I couldn't. I can't. It doesn't matter."

"I'm sorry it didn't work out between the two of you," Ruby said sympathetically.

"Me too," she replied. "Life goes on, right?"

Ruby cleared her throat, "Actually that's what I've sort of come to you for. We need to go to the hospital. There's something wrong with Henry and Sam. I think there's something going on between Emma, Dean, and Regina. I just don't have a good feeling; we should be there just in case."

"Of course," Mary Margaret said, her eyes widening as she listened to Ruby speak. "Let's go."

* * *

**The Hospital**

Dean watched as Emma threw Regina into one of the shelves. He thought about intervening, but decided against it. He was just as angry as Emma; and from the look on her face when she had held up the storybook, she believed. And if anyone was responsible for Henry and Sam's condition, it was the Evil Queen.

"You did this!" Emma said as she man-handled Regina against a file cabinet.

"What the hell are you doing?" Regina asked, barely able to breathe. "Stop her!"

"Not a chance," Dean whispered. He was biding his time; waiting for his opportunity. He understood Emma's pain. Hell, he was just as angry as Emma – but they couldn't both be unstable at the same time. One of them had to supervise. And that's what he was doing now.

"Stop this!" Regina begged as Emma held her in place against the cabinet, "My son-"

"Is sick because of you! That apple turnover you gave me – he ate it!" Emma yelled, her eyes filled with water.

The look on Regina's face was enough to prove her guilt right there. "What? It was meant for you!"

"It's true, isn't it?" Dean knew what she meant; what she was referring to.

Regina played dumb, "What are you talking about?"

"It's true, isn't it?!" Emma said louder, "all of it."

Regina's head fell back against the cabinet in defeat. Her lips trembled, "Yes."

"I was leaving town! Why couldn't you just leave things alone?"

"Because as long as you're alive, Henry will never be mine!" Dean felt his hand make a fist, but he restrained. Emma could handle this.

"He'll never be anyone's unless you fix this. You wake him up!" Emma demanded.

Regina was now in tears, "I can't!"

Emma was trembling as she pushed Regina against the wall harder. "Don't you have magic?"

Regina began to shake her head, "That was the last of it. It was supposed to put _you _to sleep!"

It was Dean's turn to intervene. "Well what's it going to do to Henry and Sam?!" Dean demanded. Regina's attention turned to Dean but Emma's eyes never left Regina's.

"I don't know," Regina shook her head. "Magic here is unpredictable."

"So," Emma whispered, "he could…"

"Yes."

"So, what do we do?" Dean asked.

Regina started walking around the closet, "We need help. There's one other person in this town who knows about this… knows about magic."

Emma sighed, "Mr. Gold."

"Actually, he goes by Rumplestilskin."

* * *

**Eeeeek! I wonder what will happen next... I promise after things start to die down there will be some fluffy moments between Emma and Dean. But we have to go through the heart ache first! **

**"Dede42: GAH! I KNEW it! Dean better get Ruby up there to kiss Sam before the curse breaks, and I'd LOVE to see Dean help Emma fight the you-know-what in the cavern. Poor Henry! WAH!" Lucky for Dean I don't think he'll have to pull any swords from any stones to fight the you-know-what... Or maybe he will! **

**"xxxJusta1991xxx: OMG! Sam ate the turnover! Poor Dean! He's gonna blame himself for not protecting Sammy, even if it wasn't his fault... I wonder if Ruby followed Dean ;) And I'm excited for new chapter to see Emma starting to believe in the curse! ;) Hope Dean will be there for her and she's gonna be there for him ;)" She finally believes! Maybe now she'll finally take Dean's job seriously lol. **


	21. Chapter 21: Hero's Journey

**Gold's Pawn Shop**

Dean, Emma, and Regina walked into the pawn shop, Emma leading the pack. Dean had already had a bad suspicion about Rumplestilskin from Henry's story and the book, so he wasn't very happy about coming here and asking for his help. He just wanted Sammy to be ok; to wake up. And Henry, too.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" said the man on the other side of the counter in a foreign accent. This was the first time he'd seen this guy around town. "Or is that the look of a believer?"

"We need your help," Emma said bluntly.

"Indeed you do. Ah, Mr. Winchester – the older brother," he turned his attention to Dean. "We haven't been properly introduced."

Dean shook his head, "Save it, Rump. We've got bigger problems to worry about."

Mr. Gold sighed. "I see. It seems quite the tragic ailment has befallen young Henry and Sam. I told you," his attention turned to Regina, "magic comes with a price."

"Henry shouldn't have to pay it," she replied.

"Or Sam," Emma interrupted.

Mr. Gold's attention never left Regina, "No, _you_ should. But alas, we are where we are."

"Enough with the crap," Dean interjected. "Can you help us or not?"

"Dean," Emma tried to calm him down. It was her turn to be the level-headed one.

Mr. Gold smiled, "Of course. True love, Ms. Swan," he quickly looked between the blonde and Dean. "The only magic powerful enough to transcend realms and break any curse. Luckily for you, I happened to have bottled some."

"You did?" Regina's voice broke, she sounded surprised.

Dean held up his hand. "Hold on. How can you _bottle _true love? Isn't it, like, a feeling? How did you turn it tangible?"

"Mr. Winchester, I sense that you've seen quite a lot in your time. More than the average person from this world. Why do you seem so small minded to the idea of magic?" Mr. Gold said, almost threatening.

"I don't deal with _magic_, Rump. The things I fight, I see them. I know they're there. I don't play with _true love_, bottling it up and what not. The way that _you two _use magic - it's enough to make me despise the very thought. You say magic comes with a price and yet you both use it to cast curses and manipulate hundreds of lives. You two brought this town here and now _my _brother and _Emma's _son are paying the cost," Dean could feel his blood pumping through his veins. He'd been holding all of this in for far too long. He hadn't meant to explode like this – but when would he get this chance again?

He felt a hand on his shoulder and his entire body relaxed. "Dean," Emma said calmly. "Now is not the time. Henry and Sam are in trouble." She turned her attention to Mr. Gold. "How did you bottle true love?"

Mr. Gold looked between Dean and Emma again, his eyes lingering a tad longer on Dean than he felt comfortable with. "From strands of your parents' hair," he pointed to Emma, who cocked her head and rose her eye brow, "I made the most powerful potion in all the realm. So powerful that when I created the Dark Curse, I placed a single drop on the parchment. Just a little safety valve."

Emma's mouth dropped, "That's why I'm the savior. That's why I can break the curse."

"Now you're getting it," Mr. Gold nodded, a sly smile spreading across his lips. Dean cringed as he thought about how Emma must be feeling about the entire thing. A pawn – that's all this man saw Emma as. But Dean knew better; she was more than just that.

"I don't care about breaking the curse. All I care about is saving Henry."

"Which is why it's your lucky day," Mr. Gold smirked. "I didn't use all the potion. I saved some for a rainy day."

"Well it's storming like a bitch. Where is it?" Emma asked.

"Where it is isn't the problem." Dean rolled his eyes and groan. "Getting it is what should worry you."

Regina finally spoke up. "Enough with the riddles." Dean had been watching her from the corner of his eye while Gold had been talking. She'd seemed surprised to hear about the potion and the reason why Emma was the savior. He began to wonder how Regina had ended up with Gold's Dark Curse to begin with. If he was the one who created it, how come she was the one who cast it? "What do we do?"

"_You_ do nothing," Mr. Gold pointed at Regina. Dean felt the tension; there was something off about the two of them. "It has to be Ms. Swan."

"He's my son; it should be me," Regina rebutted.

"All due respect, but it's her son. And it has to be her. She's the product of the magic," Dean didn't like the way he looked and talked about Emma. Like she was just a _thing_; a means to an end. "She must be the one to find it."

"I can do it," Emma said.

Dean spoke up, "You're not doing it alone. Whatever it is, I'm coming with you."

"Don't trust him," Regina said, tears appearing in the corner of her eyes.

"What choice do we have?" Emma replied.

Mr. Gold sighed, "That's right, dearie. What choice _do _you have?"

"Enough with the villain-to-villain stand off. Where is the magic?" Dean interrupted.

"Tell me, your majesty; is our friend still in the basement?" Mr. Gold asked Regina.

Dean's eye brows creased as he watched them in this strange exchange.

Regina cringed, "Oh, you twisted little imp. You hid it with _her_?"

"Oh, no. Not with her. _In _her. I knew you couldn't resist bringing her over."

"Who is _her_?" Emma asked, growing impatient like Dean.

"Someone you should be prepared for," Mr. Gold began to wipe down the case sitting on the counter in front of him. "Where you're going, you're gonna need this." He opened up the case.

Dean looked down at the case and then to Emma. "What is that?" she asked.

"Your father's sword."

Dean watched as Emma took a deep breathe.

"Now you, Mr. Winchester – I would advice you to allow Ms. Swan to take on this quest alone. But I fear my words would fall upon deaf ears. So if you insist on getting in the way, I think you'll find your weapon of choice down with our friend," Mr. Gold said.

Dean pulled out the gun he had, "I'm good. I've got this."

"I think you'll find that a bit useless."

"Then what are you suggesting? You got a spare sword you're gonna whip out from your back pocket?" Dean asked sarcastically.

Mr. Gold smirked, "I was thinking something more grounded. Like a rock."

* * *

**The Hospital**

Emma's finger trembled as she lightly ran it across Henry's forehead. She had to reach out to him, somehow. "Henry," she whispered, "you were right about the curse. I should have believed you. I'm sorry," the words died as she tried her hardest to hold back the tears. Tears weren't going to help right now. She had to fix this. She had to make this right. She clenched Henry's book in her hands as she slid it under his pillow. "For when you wake up," she whispered.

* * *

Dean could barely hear Emma talking to Henry on the other side of the room. He looked down at Sam laying on the bed. "Sammy," he whispered, much lower than Emma's. He felt silly just talking to him, but he had to try to reach out in there.

But Dean was breaking. He _knew _Sam was awake somewhere in there – but the state he was in was all too similar to the way he'd looked two years ago: when he was laying on his back on a flimsy old mattress with his hands folded one on top of the other, his head laying on its side. There were so many emotions racing through Dean's body.

He had let down his brother, again. _Look out for Sammy_, his father's words resonated through him, just like they did any time Sam was in trouble. Dean could just see his father watching him from where ever he was and shaking his head in disappointment. This was just supposed to be a case; a regular apple pie case. Break a curse. Dean never thought that one of them would actually fall under a curse.

His sadness was mixed with anger. Anger towards Regina for planting her damn poisoned turnover on them. How _dare _she try to curse either him or his brother.

"I'm sorry Sammy. I can't – I don't know how exactly we're gonna break this damn curse. But we aren't giving up. I am not gonna let you down. I'm going to fix this. That's my job, right? Big brother to the rescue," he chuckled quietly. "We're gonna save you. You and Henry, both."

Dean looked up when Regina walked through the doors.

"Say what you've gotta say. You've got ten minutes," Emma said as she walked past her. She looked at Dean; his cue to follow.

He got up and glanced back one last time at Sam.

"You know where to meet?" Regina asked plainly.

"Yeah, don't be late." Emma and Dean walked out the doors and through the waiting room, giving a silent nod to Mary Margaret and Ruby who had promised to stay with Henry and Sam. Emma waited until they got outside before she spoke again, "I'm going to go see August; I owe him an apology and we need all the people on our side we can get. Do you want to come?"

Dean sighed, "To be honest Emma, I don't think you owe that puppet anything. And I'd have a really hard time not punching him in the face for all the crap he's put you through. But I have a feeling you're going to go anyway – and you're right. We do need all the help we can get. That's why I'm going to call Cas. See what he has to say about all of this. Maybe he knows some holy spell or voo-doo to help Henry and Sam." He could have sworn that Emma looked almost disappointed when he declined her offer, but she stoned up really fast.

"You know when and where to meet?"

"I promise I won't be late. But just in case something happens or we find something out, will you please let me give you my damn number?" he said with a much needed chuckle at the end. She smirked, though he could tell how hard she had tried to force her lips not to. She pulled out her phone and handed it to him; he did the same.

"Don't be late," she whispered, her voice dying at the end. When they exchanged phones again, their hands grabbed for each other's. He squeezed her hands and she dropped her head. She was breaking down but everything in her body was forcing her not to. When she finally looked up at him, a few tears broke through and had fallen down her cheeks. "I'm so scared, Dean." He knew how much it meant to have her confess this. He pulled her into him and she immediately clung to him. He heard her trying to catch her breath as she let out a few more tears. He held on tight to her, running his hand along the back of her head in an attempt to be comforting.

"I know," he whispered, a single tear ran down his cheek. He kissed the top of her forehead, "Me too."

* * *

**This chapter broke my heart. I really do feel for these characters! I know I just posted a chapter earlier today; but I couldn't help myself! It was really hard to stop writing when I finished Chapter 20, so I just kept going. I hope you don't mind! **

**"Dede42: Oh, I was hoping that Dean would get to slug Regina, but I guess he'll get a chance later, and I wonder if Dean will get to fight the you-know-what after visiting Mr. Gold? I hope Ruby kisses Sam soon and wakes him up right before they get back, I bet it'll give Dean to tease his little brother." Dean would have so much fun teasing Sam! Lol. And yes, Dean had to sit back and let Emma take the lead. I thought about making Dean get physical with the mayor, but I thought that the actual scene itself was a very emotional and intense scene that I didn't want to take away from that. Emma ****_needed _****to be the one to confront Regina about poisoning Henry to kind of wrap up her whole starting to believe thing. Besides, I'm sure Dean was proud of Emma for handling the situation herself! Lol. **


	22. Chapter 22: Preparation

**The Impala**

Dean sat in his Baby. His constant. His home. After everyone had left him – his girlfriend, his father, even when Sammy left for college – he still had his Baby to fall back on. He took care of her and built her up those many times life decided to tear her down. She'd kept him warm at night and dry during the rain. She'd given him a place to sleep when hotels were just too far away.

He honestly wouldn't know what he would have done if it wasn't for this car. Even with all of her quirks and blemishes, she was perfect. This had been home for as long as Dean could remember.

He pulled out his phone and called Cas, but there was no answer. "Son of a bitch; don't do this to me now! Answer the damn phone," Dean swore into the phone as he tried the number again. Nothing.

He threw the phone down and shook his head. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, "Cas get your feathery ass down here right now," he prayed. "You can't do this; you can't leave me. We have to help Sam. We have to fix him. Get down here, _now._" He felt the few tears he'd felt building at the edge of his eye lids start to fall. "Please." He dropped his head into his hands.

How was he going to do this? How was he and Emma supposed to _save _Henry and Sam? Sure, she was a savior – the product of true love. That must mean something. And as Cas said – she had magic in her. But what about him? The soldier, at best. He was destined to save the entire freakin' world according to a couple of angel douchebags. But he couldn't even save his own damn brother. A magical quest with his brother and Emma's son's lives on the line. Would he be able to do it?

He shook his head. The time for self-loathing was over. If Cas wasn't going to help him – then to hell with him. Him and Emma would have to rely on themselves to save the day.

* * *

**The Inn**

Emma approached the hotel door with the number two sign and knocked, "August? Please open up."

No answer.

"I know you're in there. Open the door."

Barely, she heard a weak reply, "I can't."

_He can't_? What did that mean? Could he physically not get up to open the door or was there something hindering his way to opening it? It didn't matter, she didn't have time for this. She kicked the door open.

There he was, laying on the bed. Except he was different. His arms were wooden and his neck was starting to turn. This is what he meant in the forest. She really hadn't been able to see his leg – but now, now she could see everything. August had been telling the truth. He was turning into wood right before her eyes.

"No," she breathed. "What's happening to you?"

"You can see it now," he barely said. "You believe."

"Yeah, I do. But… How do I stop this?" she asked. This was her fault – just like Henry. He was turning into wood because she wouldn't believe him sooner.

"Break the c-curse."

She moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "I'll try. I promise. But I gotta save Henry first. And I need your help."

"No you don't," he whispered.

"Yeah, I do. This is all too much. I just… talked to the Evil Queen and Rumplestilskin. Dean and I – we have to go on some quest to find magic and we have no idea what we're up against and we – I need you. I can't do it, August. I can't. No normal person can."

"Luckily for us, you're not normal," he said with a weak smile. The rest of his neck and jaw were turning into wood. She wanted desperately to reach out and stop this but she didn't know how. "You can save Henry. You can save all of -" his face turned to wood. He was no longer here with her, not really.

What was she going to do? She had no one now. No one except Dean. Could she and Dean really do this? For Henry and Sam?

* * *

**Gold's Pawn Shop**

"No use struggling, dearie. I've done my research; I know how to trap you. You're not going anywhere," Mr. Gold said as he snarled.

"Why are you doing this? Let me go, Rumplestilskin!" Castiel yelled as he stood trapped in the middle of a circle of fire. Fire that burned from holy oil.

Mr. Gold moved his pointer finger back and forth, "No, no, no. I don't think so. Who is the all powerful one now?"

"How did you even get holy oil?"

"I've acquired a number of things in this shop; some from this world and some from mine. It should be no surprise that holy oil is something I possess. And with just a bit of research, I've managed to scrounge up my own little angel mouse trap," Mr. Gold said as he walked around the circumference of the flames, Castiel's eyes never leaving his.

"But why? Sam is in trouble, as well as Henry. Something you are well aware of. I can help them; I can save them!" Castiel tried to reason.

Mr. Gold just shook his head, "See, that's where you're wrong. I don't _need _you to save them. _Emma _has to save Henry; though first she has to run an errand. Just a minor rodent problem. She will be victorious and all will be well."

"What about Dean and Sam? You're sending them Dean and Emma down in that mine to fight against a _dragon_."

"Oh, Emma will be fine. She has her father's sword; the fighting spirit is in her blood. Did you know that the first time our dear Prince went into battle was against a dragon? No experience, no weapons; probably had never even seen a dragon before. And yet he rose up to the challenge and ended up vanquishing the beast! That, my angel, is the same spirit I expect to see from Emma," Mr. Gold said with a wide smile; obviously proud of himself.

Castiel's eyes narrowed, "What about Dean?"

"I've told him about a sword he can find down there; though it might be stuck in a rock. Whether he can get it out is yet to be seen -"

"You're going to sit aside and let him go down there defenseless against a dragon? It'll kill him!" Castiel yelled. Outside thunder shook the town and lightning lit the sky from Castiel's rage.

"Casualties happen every day!" Mr. Gold hissed. "He shouldn't even be here anyway. This is Emma's destiny and Emma's alone! Besides, if he dies I'm sure you can just bring him back – again." Castiel glared at the imp; but there was nothing he could do. The fiery oil left him powerless. "I'll release you… eventually. I just can't have you meddling."

Mr. Gold turned and limped his way out of the room.

* * *

**Sorry for the long break between chapters! But I will be posting more within the next couple of days, I promise!  
**

**"Dede42: Awake up and I find a new chapter posted. Wow!_ Any who, I'm still hoping that Ruby will kiss Sam soon and I'm looking forward to seeing whether Dean can pull a sword from a stone without having to blow it up. *evil grin*" Haha! Yes! I don't think he'll have time for that while there's a gigantic dragon trying to kill him!**

**"Eric the Looney: (ch 9) Huh. You know, this is the 2nd supernatural/Once crossover fic I've read, and though that one has a little more casual feel to it, this feels, I dunno, more personal. Like that it's not just about the plot. It's about these strong characters bouncing off each other. That being said, I'm also interested in finding out how you're going to work around The Stranger, now that you've got August going wood, and Sam knowing about that. All I will say more is that this interaction is a fascinating piece of character study between 2 remarkable similar stories, and I'm looking forward to what you do with it." Why thank you! I would definitely say I'm no professional when it comes to writing - but the few things that I have written have focused a lot on character focus and the emotion behind the actions.  
**

** "(ch 12) Ok, so Apple Red as Blood is in motion. So, are we getting a fusion of episodes? That being said, I like the intrigue going on here. Jefferson, the angel, Regina. There's a lot of agendas at play, and I'm looking forward to how you construct them." The chapters don't go episode to episode, as you can see from the break down as the last two episodes from the OUAT finale consisting of like the last bunch of chapters as well as the next couple. There are a lot of agendas and maybe a few more will be brought to life in a few chapters! **

**"(ch 13) Oh no. Pinocchio! You have the worst sense of timing ever! And now you're going to dredge up bad memories again. This was what one reviewer called the interesting dilemma of emma and the curse from before. She already has all the information, but what she needs to do is believe in it. And that's something she's teetering away from. Now, what'll happen in this new timeline? (sigh) probably nothing good. (" I think that's what I found the most intriguing as well as the most frustrating about Emma when I was watching these episodes for the first time. We, as the audience, _know _that what everyone's saying is true. We _know _that Jefferson is just some mad man or that Graham wasn't having a mental break down or that August wasn't just seeing things. And yet Emma, who knows everything, just _refuses _to believe it. That's probably the point where you really start to come to the understanding that wow this character is really damaged. **

**"(ch 18) Oh...my. The pieces are going into play indeed. And...with the angel connected to dean, they're about to lose their last outside link to this craziness. PREPARE FOR THE END OF THE CURSE, AND THE SLEEPING OF THE MAJOR DEENS."  
**

**"(ch 19) And thus begins the great game changer that will change the series history of Once Upon A Time for all time. Finally, henry as collateral got hit by a magic strike, and now the only place to go, it up. Dean, Emma, the angel, ruby. It's all up to them to finish what's been started."**

**"(ch 21) Ok, now we're going places. However, I can't help but wonder something. If you're following the storybrooke so closely at this point, how are you going to deal with season 2? You've obviously got the whole wind up for the end of the season going, particularly with the whole DeanEmma vibe you've got going, but what's going to happen once the curse is broken and the magic comes back? It's enough to make one pause and wonder. That being said, it appears that the questions of hope, power, truth and strength are arising. And, I'd really like to look forward to Sam giving Ruby her hood back. But, this again draws back to the question: What do you plan to do when the curse breaks? Oh, and don't be bashful. We love it when you add new chapters." Honestly, there's a lot of ways I could go with the ending of season 1 of OUAT and my kind of revised version with these other characters. But I've got a fairly decent map of how I'm going to handle certain situations. I am also looking forward to Sam giving Ruby her hood and their relationship in general. Sam and Dean have been doing the same thing since they were young - hunting down the monsters and killing them. Now we're seeing them surrounded by people who aren't exactly from our world and some of them are things that Sam and Dean would consider monsters. We've got witches and werewolves and monsters and a magical sorcerer who, in the Winchester's book, have done _enough _where they would usually set out to kill that source. It'll be interesting to see how they deal with this new set of rules and issues once magic comes back (spoilers). **

**"Jason123456: (ch 16)really enjoying your story keep up the great work it to bad ruby won't be in season three(she started a new show on CBS called Intelligence(looks like improved version of Jake 2.0) )" &"(ch 21) just finished what you have so far really enjoyed it looking forward to future updates" Thank you! And I am very disappointed that she wasn't showcased enough in season 1 and 2 for her to stay because I really enjoyed her character and the role she played. Maybe she'll be able to guest star every now and them. One can hope!**

**"xxxJusta1991xxx: Aww... I loved Dean and Emma supporting each other :) They understand each other! :) I wonder what Cas will say, maybe he'll be able to help Sam ;) So glad you posted 2 chapters! :) Can't wait for the new one! :)" They're so adorable sometimes I just can't help myself! I'll post more chapters within a few days!**

**"Grace: OH MY GOD! (Wails)(CRIES)(SCREAMS)" That's the best reaction a writer could ask for! :) **

**"iaameleanorrigby: My goodness, I just finished and this is my favorite crossover. Very well done, I'm aching for more." Thank you! I'm very glad that you are enjoying the story so far! :)**


	23. Chapter 23: Fighting the Beast

**The Library**

Dean parked in front of the boarded up library and found Emma standing alone by the door, one hand against her forehead and the other holding the sword. She noticed his arrival when he opened and shut his car door with a loud squeak and slam.

"Where's Cas?" Emma asked.

Dean shook his head, "I don't know. I couldn't get ahold of him. I would be worried, but I can't afford it at the moment. Have to concentrate on us and finding this magic. What about the puppet?" Dean asked, looking around the library and trying to peek between two boards.

"He um… Well he's literally a puppet," Emma said weakly. "I guess the curse finally was too much. He's gone. I was too late."

"I'm sorry Emma," Dean said sympathetically. He understood the burden of having other's lives on your conscious. "But it's not your fault."

"I didn't believe him, Dean! I didn't believe you, I didn't believe Henry! And now _everyone _is suffering because of my stubbornness; no one more than Henry and Sam! That is on _me_, Dean," she said as her eyes began to become glossy. She'd been crying way too much tonight; she needed to sharpen up. Tears and self-loathing were not going to save Henry. "How am I supposed to live with myself if I'm not able to save them?"

Dean's face dropped and his eyes seemed distant. What she'd just said struck something in him; something deep and personal. Like he'd been in this situation before. "We're going to save them. I made you a promise. I made Henry a promise. You didn't ask for this; you didn't deserve to have your entire life uprooted when you were a newborn and have this destiny thrown on you. When all this is over I have half a mind to sock Rump and the mayor just for messing with your life like this."

Emma scoffed, "You're not the only one."

Dean reached out and grabbed for Emma's hand, squeezing it. Neither of them were touchy-feely people. So for him to extend this type of comfort, it really meant a lot to Emma. She felt so many things in this hand exchange: trust, hope, sympathy, faith, understanding. She became so overwhelmed that she pulled him towards her and hugged him. There was no tension, no surprise. He embraced her body against his because deep down, he needed this too. He needed to know that she trusted him, that she understood him, that she had faith in him. This was her way of communicating that; and she got the feeling he understood her. She felt his entire body sigh in relief.

"Well, well, well. Isn't this just darling," Regina's cold words snapped at them as she walked up to the library. Emma and Dean released each other, but she still clung to his hand. Subconsciously she wasn't sure if she just needed his support, was holding him back from punching Regina, or using him as her excuse not to punch the woman herself. "But if you don't mind I'd like to get along with saving my _son_."

Emma felt like there was a tang of jealousy in her tone as she looked between her and Dean. "Regina, if we are going to do this we have to work together. Let's just put our personal animosity aside and focus on finding this cure and saving both Henry and Sam. Got it?"

Regina stood there for a second in defense, but eventually sighed a breath of defeat. She nodded, then pulled out her keys to unlock the doors. When they opened, Regina led the way in, followed by Emma then Dean.

"What is this place?" Emma asked as Regina flipped on the lights.

"Would you like a tour, or shall we get to it?" Regina said in annoyance.

Dean interrupted, "Lead the way."

The pair watched as Regina walked over to a wall covered with a mirror in the shape of a tree hanging against a wall. When she pressed her hand to it, the entire wall began to rise revealing an old fashion elevator behind it.

"Woah," Emma and Dean said in unison.

Regina pulled on a lever that opened the doors. "Get in," she gestured.

"After you," Dean said defensively. Emma agreed, there was no way she was going to trust Regina.

Regina rolled her eyes, "It's a two-man job. The elevator's hand-operated. I have to stay up here and lower you down," she said to Emma.

"And I'm just supposed to trust you?" Emma asked, walking toward the elevator and inspecting it.

"I don't think you have much choice in the matter, Ms. Swan. According to Mr. Gold it's you who is supposed to do this; the one who _can _do this. And, for some god-knows reason, you are supposed to assist her, Mr. Winchester. Apparently I am only useful enough to press buttons and pull levers. So if you wouldn't mind just getting on with it!" Regina said with a hiss. Emma didn't take her words as hateful; she understood that Regina must be feeling pretty useless, especially the way Mr. Gold had treated her when he was giving them this assignment.

"This battle I'm supposed to fight," Emma began. She looked over at Dean who was watching everyone closely, "That _we _are supposed to fight. Who is it? _What _is down there?"

"An old friend," Regina said plainly.

"Then why don't you go talk to them?" Dean asked.

Regina sighed, "Because her punishment here was different than everyone else's. I trapped her… in a different form. She doesn't wanna hear from me. You have to trust me on that," she said to Emma.

"Ok," Emma said. "I'll go down there. But let's be clear about something, your majesty," she threatened. "The only reason you're not dead is because I need your help to save Henry. If he dies," her eyes narrowed as she leaned in closer to Regina, "so do you."

"Well, then let's get on with it," Regina said, taking a deep breath before turning to the machine. "Now this is what you're going to have to do."

* * *

Emma and Dean began to descend down the elevator. Emma turned the sword around in her hands. "How the hell am I supposed to use this?"

Dean chuckled, "The pointy end goes in the other guy."

Emma rolled her eyes. Dean pulled out his gun and checked to make sure it was loaded. "Speaking of, are you going to look for that other sword down there or are you just going to stick with that?"

"This baby hasn't let me down yet," Dean said with a confident smile. "Besides, what kind of Arthurian legend crap is pulling a sword from a stone? I thought this was fairy tales."

"Scared you can't do it?" Emma teased.

The elevator lowered to a stop as Emma and Dean stared silently into the open. Neither of them knew what to expect. _What kind of other form could a person be trapped in? _Dean thought as Emma lifted up the gate. They both gave each other knowing glances as they started walking out to the open.

Emma and Dean stayed side-by-side as they slowly walked forward, both inspecting their own sides as they looked around the large mine shaft. "Where's that damn sword at?" Dean breathed out as he began searching for some kind of stone that Mr. Gold was talking about.

"What the -" Emma said as she walked over to a large _something. _

Dean walked over to her and finally got a good look at it. _A glass coffin_? "Snow White?" Dean asked, looking at Emma's surprised face. Something bright and shiny caught Dean's attention as he looked up at the top of one of the cliffs. "The sword," Dean whispered. Emma took a few steps backwards until she backed into something. Dean turned to look at Emma to tell her he found the sword, when he noticed the wall she was against started moving. "Emma," Dean warned, but it was too late.

A huge eye opened; a bright green, lizard eye. No, a dragon eye.

Emma began to feel the wall behind her and finally understood Dean's warning. She turned and rose her sword as the dragon extended to its full height. It was stories tall with a glowing chest and fire that stormed out of its roaring mouth.

Dean pulled Emma back before the dragon lunged forward towards them and hid behind the coffin. "We need to split up," Emma yelled over the roar. "You've got to get that sword."

"Screw the sword," Dean yelled, pulling out his gun and pointing it towards the dragon. He shot at the beast until he ran out of bullets, none of them doing any damage. "Ok, I think I've just pissed it off more. Let's go with your plan. What was it again?"

"Go get that damn sword! You go up the cliff and I'll lure it away," Emma said, looking around for the path she was planning to take.

"Be careful!" Dean said before taking his leave. Emma ran in the opposite direction as he began running up the steps to where he'd seen the sword.

The deafening roar of the dragon behind him only made him run faster.

When he reached the top of the cliff he looked back to see Emma jumping across stacks of rocks over a large crack in the ground. She hid behind a pillar as the dragon lost its footing on one of the stack of rocks that tumbled at its weight, the dragon falling.

Dean ran over to the sword in the stone and studied it for a second. The sword had a gold handle with some funny looing letters engraved along the top of the sword that was sticking out. He got up on the stone and gripped the handle. He pulled – but the sword didn't budge.

Emma was looking over the edge down at where the dragon had fallen. "I can't see it," she yelled to Dean. "I think it's de-"

The entire cliff shook as the dragon flew out of the abyss it'd fallen down, causing Emma to fall backwards. Dean went back to trying to pull the sword out, this was now his only weapon choice.

He heard gun shots, then the roar of the dragon. "DEAN!" Emma yelled.

Dean closed his eyes and concentrated. He _had _to do this. He had to save his brother, save Henry. He couldn't let them down. He couldn't let Emma down. He _deserved_ this sword; he was _worthy_.

He pulled one last time as the sword finally began to give, a light illuminating around the blade. Dean stood in awe but only for a second before the dragon's growl brought him back to his task.

"Emma!" Dean yelled as he jumped and ran to where she was. The dragon loomed over her as she stood backed into a corner. "HEY!" he yelled to get its attention.

The dragon turned and lunged for Dean, breathing fire at him. Dean panicked, he had nowhere to hide from the fire. So he raised his sword in front of him. To his astonishment, the sword absorbed the fire, saving him from the inevitable burn it would have inflicted. Though Dean was saved from the fire, the dragon still ran after him. The dragon swung its massive wing, throwing Dean across the floor, making him drop the sword. It stood over him as Dean was cornered, defenseless.

"HEY!" he heard Emma yell from the other side. The dragon turned around and charged towards Emma, who threw her father's sword at the dragon's glowing chest.

The sword struck it as the dragon cried out in pain. The dragon began to break down as it completely turned to dust in a pile where it stood.

Dean and Emma stood and walked towards the pile, ash falling all around them. "What happened?" Dean asked, trying to brush off some of the dust off of him. "Is this… dragon debris?"

"Look at this," Emma said as she bent down and pulled a golden, jeweled egg out of the pile of ash. "It must be the magic." She held it to her chest, taking a large breath. Dean offered his hand to help her up. When she finally stood, he pulled her into a hug.

"Let's go save Sam and Henry."

* * *

**Poor Maleficent! :( I had some difficulty in trying to figure out how exactly I wanted them to fight Maleficent. Because Emma and Dean are both such strong and brace characters that I wanted them to both be able to defend each other. But in the end, it had to be Emma who killed her. I couldn't take that away from our savior! And I doubt Dean would complain about a woman as badass as Emma saving his life! Maybe he'll be able to repay her for it later... ;) **

**"Guest: :Up next will be the dragon I expect, and it'll be interesting to see if Dean can help Emma defeat said dragon without getting roasted. I expect when Cas gets free, he's gotta do something nasty to Mr. Gold for tramping him like that in a ring of holy fire, and if not... oh well. I hope Ruby wakes Sam up soon before the curse gets broken. Update soon!" Thank goodness Dean didn't get roasted! And yes, Cas will definitely be pissed off when he finally gets out. Next chapter we will get back to the hospital and see what's been going on!**

**"Grace: Hurry up! Good work!" Thank you! :) **


	24. Chapter 24: Panic and Betrayal

**The Hospital**

"And yes, she was beyond hope; beyond saving. This was her end. When Prince Charming saw his beloved Snow White in her glass coffin, he knew all that was left was to say good-bye," Mary Margaret said softly as she continued reading from Henry's storybook.

Ruby looked over at the sweet scene wondering where Emma, Dean, and Regina had gone. She looked at Henry's angelic face and a pang in her chest gripped at her heart for the poor child. Then she looked over at Sam, whose bed she was sitting over. She couldn't believe that this had not only happened once, but twice. Something wasn't right. She could smell something fowl.

"He had to give her one last kiss. And when he did, True Love proved more powerful than any curse. A pulse of pure love shuddered out and engulfed the land, waking up Snow White and bringing light to the darkness." Mary Margaret closed the book and reached for Henry's hand. As if instinct took over, Ruby reached out and grabbed Sam's. "Henry," her voice trembled as she began to speak, "when I gave you this book, it was because I knew… I know life doesn't always have a happy end. But I thought," her voice broke as Ruby saw the tears starting to fall down.

Suddenly, both of the monitors that were connected to Henry and Sam began to beep louder and more rapid. Mary Margaret and Ruby looked over at the screens and then to each other, neither of them understood what exactly it meant; but they knew it wasn't good.

"What is that?" Mary Margaret panted as she began to rise up from the bed.

"Dr. Whale!" Ruby yelled out as she sprang up and ran towards the door. Dr. Whale rushed into the isolated room followed by a team of nurses.

"Dr. Whale, what is that?!" Mary Margaret said with a panic.

Dr. Whale first went over to Henry while another nurse checked on Sam. "What's wrong?" Ruby asked, just as panicked as Mary Margaret.

"Nurse, get them out of here now!" Dr. Whale commanded, pointing towards both Mary Margaret and Ruby.

Her heart beat was racing as she looked back at Sam one last time. She couldn't leave him; she _couldn't_. It was her fault he was like this! She had to stay!

Mary Margaret was fighting back the nurses trying to see whatever it is that Dr. Whale was doing, asking what was happening. "His heart rate's falling," Dr. Whale said as he went over to inspect Sam. "His too."

There was so much noise and so many people pushing each other to get into the room that Mary Margaret and Ruby were eventually pressed against the window on the other side of the wall, trying to hear and see what exactly was going on.

The nurses began to put a breathing mask on Henry as Dr. Whale pushed against his chest. A couple of nurses on the other side of the room began to mimic Dr. Whale's motion.

Ruby grabbed on to Mary Margaret's hand as they did the only thing they could: watch.

* * *

**The Library**

Dean and Emma made it back to the elevator, both had their swords in their hands while Emma clutched the egg.

"So," Dean broke the silence, "_that's_ the magic?"

Emma looked down and began to evaluate the egg. "I don't know. It's not a real egg; that's for sure. Whatever it is, it _better _be able to help. Maybe it opens up or someth-"

The elevator shook, causing Dean to grab on to Emma to support her. Then, it stopped.

"What the hell?" Emma asked, looking up to try to figure out what had happened. "Regina!"

"What the hell was that?" Dean called up.

"Regina!" Emma yelled.

"Ms. Swan?" A voice said from above. Dean didn't like who's voice it was. Why was _he _here? "You've got it?"

"Mr. Gold, what are you doing here?" Emma asked, just as confused as Dean.

Dean could only see the outline of the man's head, but his voice echoed throughout the shaft. "I've come to check on you. I'm glad I did. Regina abandoned you and sabotaged the elevator."

"What? I'm coming up," Emma said as she began to find a way to climb up to the top of the elevator.

"Emma, wait," Dean whispered. "I don't like this. Why would Regina just abandon us?"

Emma scoffed, "You need a reason for the _evil queen _to do something nasty?"

"Yeah, but – it just doesn't make sense."

"I don't care, either way. I have to get up there; we have to save our family," and that was the last Emma had to say about that as she began to climb to the top of the elevator.

Dean, still uneasy about this whole thing, began to help her up as he followed suit. They exchanged the egg as each of them made it to the top.

"There's no time for this," Mr. Gold said. "You can't possibly scale the wall and carry that," referring to the egg.

"Yeah? Well I can try," Emma retorted and Dean couldn't hold in the chuckle that left his lungs. Nothing was going to hold this fiery blonde back from something she wanted.

"No, you can't. Just – just toss it up," Mr. Gold suggested. Dean's entire body stiffened at the man's proposal. "Your boy's gonna be fine," he said, trying to reassure her.

"And Sam," Dean spoke up, tired of being ignored.

"And Sam," Mr. Gold repeated, less enthusiastically. "I promise. We're running out of time. Toss it up."

Dean could see it in Emma's eyes that she was losing faith in herself with each mention that they were running out of time. "Ok," she finally said, giving a small look to Dean, "You hold on to it. We'll be right up." With that she tossed the egg upward and right into Mr. Gold's arms. Dean watched as the man began to disappear from over the ledge.

"Gold?" Dean yelled, not wanting the man to leave his sight. He rushed to help Emma as she began to pull herself up using the cable.

"Gold!" Emma yelled as she finally made it to the top and pulled herself up. Dean followed, able to lift himself as he scaled the walls. "Dean!"

He rushed to get to the top as fast as he could. As he finally got to the ledge, he heard muffled cries.

"Regina," Emma said as she went over to kneel in front of a tied up and taped Regina.

_What was going on? _Dean thought, suddenly growing angry at Mr. Gold's betrayal.

Emma pulled off the duct tape over, freeing Regina's mouth. "He tricked you!" she yelled as Emma began to untie the rope from around her. "How could you give him that?"

"Where is he?" Emma asked.

"Gone."

Dean ran out the doors and looked on both sides of the library – no sign of him anywhere. He ran back inside as Regina was finally free.

"Gold," Regina said with rage, "He manipulated all of this."

"Come on, he can't be that far," Emma said as she looked back at Dean.

He nodded, "We'll have to split up. I didn't see which way he went. For a dude with a limp he sure can move fast."

Just as the words left his mouth, two sets of ring tones began to go off. Emma and Regina looked between each other before Emma finally spoke, looking at Dean with such a heartbreaking glance that Dean _knew _it wasn't good. "It's the hospital."

* * *

**I ****_had _****to stop it here! Don't you just love cliffhangers?! I promise it won't be long until the next chapter! **

**"Dede42: Dragon go BOOM! If Sam dies, I expect Dean to go bananas on Regina. Update soon!" I expect Dean to go bananas on EVERYONE in that town if Sam dies! Lol. **

**"Guest: Wow! Great chapter! Loved them as team! I think you did very well with both of them being able to fight but you let Emma be the savior ;)) And Dean was managed to pull out the sword lol I was wondering if you're gonna use that scene we all know and love ;)) But I think that in that moment Dean really needed that sword and didn't have time to blow up the rock ;) Loved everything in this chapter! ;)" Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I so contemplated putting in that scene, but there definitely wasn't any time for Dean to blow up a rock. I thought that just this once Dean deserved the sword. Plus, it's not the same sword as the Supernatural one! And he might be needing it at a later time... ;) **

**"Grace: (SCREAMS) HURRY!" :) I will promise to hurry with the next one! This one was kind of just a teaser! **

**"Eric the Looney: Maleficent was probably my favorite bit of the editing in this episode hands down. Well, part of it. I would have loved for charming's section to be maybe a hair later in finishing, as the 2 of them fighting the dragon made for a great show of how their lives are beginning to bleed together. Seeing their ending the battle with the dragon more towards the same time might have been a little stronger. That being said, this was neat because it gives Dean a purpose, but still had some canonicity to work off of. All in all, a neat thing. That being said, will true love's kiss work from only 1 kiss, or will there have to be 2 in order to break the spell on the 2 apple victims? And what of Ruby?" Well, I will agree that the parallels shown in the show between Charming and Emma fighting the dragon were amazing and made the entire thing so much more dramatic and exciting. But I don't think that would have translated the same with this piece of writing. Especially since I haven't been writing in a flash-forward/flash-back sort of way that the show does. It would have been out of place. I ****_hope _****that most people who are reading this story are up-to-date with what's been going on in OUAT and Supernatural. At least through season 1 of the former and season 5 of the latter. And your questions should be answered in the next chapter, promise! **


	25. Chapter 25: True Love's Kiss

**The Hospital**

The trio raced to the hospital in Dean's Impala, illegally parked at the front entrance, and stormed into the hospital. Dean took the lead up the stairs followed by Emma then Regina. Dean had only been in this hospital once, but he knew the way to the room his brother was staying in. The room his brother and Henry were dying in.

As they approached the glass doors, Dr. Whale and some woman who looked like a nun walked out towards them. Both of them looked deeply saddened.

"We did everything we could," Dr. Whale whispered, barely able to look any of them in the eye.

The nun was doing her best to hold back her tears, "I'm sorry. You're too late."

Dean heard the words, but he didn't understand them. _Too late_? It wasn't possible. He _couldn't _be too late. He and Sam had been through this before; they'd always recovered. _Nothing _was ever an end for them. Sam _couldn't _be gone; it wasn't possible.

Emma was the first to push forward and open the doors. To Dean, everything seemed like it was moving in slow motion. He watched as a nurse began to turn off Henry's monitor. He looked at Henry's small, lifeless form laying on the bed. Gone. Dean felt a tear fall down as he thought about all the empty promises he'd broken; how this young man only wanted help. And Dean failed him.

Finally, Dean looked over at Sam. He looked just like Henry as he laid in his bed; hands resting on his stomach. He looked so peaceful; like he was sleeping. Dean walked over to the edge of the bed and felt more tears start to fall from his eyes as the pain in his chest only increased. His heart was breaking all over again as he stood there over his brother's body. When he looked at Sam's face, he only saw Sammy. His pain in the ass little brother. Just like everything else, this was Dean's fault. He wasn't there for him; he couldn't protect him. He'd failed everyone.

* * *

Emma couldn't take her eyes off of the small form that was laying on the bed. He didn't even look like Henry with all the wires connected to him and the breathing mask on. As the nurse began to turn off the monitor and remove the mask from his face, she knew that all hope was lost. This small creature who had once lived inside of her was gone. She'd failed him.

Flashes of the first time Emma held his small, delicate form in her hands after hours of labor entered her mind as she slowly walked over to his bed. Of how she cried herself to sleep that night because it felt like a huge chunk of heart had been ripped out and taken away. Of how she felt when he showed up at her apartment in Boston just a few short months ago. Less than a year; it wasn't long enough. It wasn't fair! She was _just _starting to get to know him. She was just starting to become a mother. How could he be taken away from her now? How could she lose him, _again_?

She thought she heard the faint sound of Regina crying behind her, but her mind wasn't thinking straight. It was only consumed with thoughts of Henry.

Emma walked over to the side of his bed; though her feet felt heavy with each step she took. She reached out for Henry's small arm and clung to him, desperate to not let him go just yet. The tears that she'd been holding back all day finally began to pour down her cheeks. She wanted to say something, but her jaw was quivering too much for anything to come out. All the air felt like it had been ripped away from her chest as she inched closer to her child's side.

There was only one thing she could do; one last goodbye. Emma began to move the hair away from Henry's forehead, though her fingers were trembling. She bent down over his form. An inch away from his forehead, she said her goodbye in the only words she felt were appropriate. She whispered in a broken voice as she closed her eyes.

"I love you, Henry," Emma said as she kissed her son's forehead.

A blast of energy serge from their bond in a wave of power that blew Emma away from Henry. She looked around and found Dean's eyes first, who looked just as confused as she was.

The sound of Henry gasping and rising from his bed caused Emma to jump back. He was alive!

The smile on Emma's face only grew as she reached out and stroked her son's hair as he looked up at her and smiled. "I love you, too. You saved me."

"You did it," Regina said behind them.

Mother Superior walked up to Emma as everyone around them began to look around as if they had no idea where they were.

"Henry," Emma said, "What's going on?"

Emma watched as Regina began to back up, carefully watching everyone around her.

"The curse," Henry answered. "I think you broke it."

"That was True Love's kiss," Mother Superior replied, answering the question that both Emma and Henry were thinking.

"No. No," Regina said in protest.

Mother Superior turned around to face the mayor and Emma began to wonder who her counterpart was, "If I were you, your majesty, I'd find a place to hide."

Regina, avoiding the nun's words, swiftly made her way to the end of Henry's bed and clutched his leg. "Henry," she began as Emma noticed tears pooling in the woman's eyes, "No matter what you think; no matter what anyone tells you. I do love you." And with that Regina quickly made her exit from the hospital.

Emma looked back towards Henry, who was smiling gleefully at her. He was… proud. Proud of her.

* * *

Dean watched as the entire scene took place in front of him. _What _had he just witnessed? The nun said it was True Love's kiss. So that meant, "Magic," he whispered only to himself.

He looked down at Sam, who still laid lifeless on his bed.

"What about Sam?" he finally spoke up after Regina had abandoned the scene. Obviously the person responsible for bringing the curse upon everyone wasn't going to stick around to play catch up.

Dr. Whale and the nun looked over at Dean. "He needs True Love's kiss," the nun spoke up. Dean began to wonder who exactly this chick was. "Sam is under the same curse that Henry was put under. The turnovers; they come from the same poisoned apple. The kiss is the only thing powerful enough to break it."

"Great," Dean groaned. He looked around and noticed that Ruby was sitting outside the room, looking just as confused as everyone else. "Ruby!" he yelled, gaining her attention. Ruby walked in and stood by Dean's side, looking over Sam. "Do you think you can do it?"

"Are you asking me if I love your brother, Dean?" Ruby asked, her eyes pleading. "I only _just _discovered who I am. I don't – I'm not sure if I can."

"Can you try?" Dean begged. Ruby only nodded as she walked on the other side of the bed. Dean could tell she was nervous as she bent down and placed her lips to Sam's.

Nothing.

When she rose up there were tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered, refusing to make eye contact with Dean.

He didn't know what to do. His brother was still cursed; he still laid there practically dead and the only source of cure fell through.

"Dean, wait," he heard Emma say as she approached him. "My love for my son was strong enough to break the curse."

"You're not suggesting -"

"You said so yourself," she said seriously as she reached out for Dean's hand. "You would risk _anything _for your brother. You went to Hell for him. What's more powerful than a bond between brothers?"

Dean shook his head; she couldn't be serious. He looked over at Sam; his Sammy. Sometimes when he looked at Sam all he could see was his naïve, helpless baby brother. Dean felt Emma squeeze his hand at an attempt to encourage him.

Dean rose up and walked over to the side of the bed. He mimicked Emma's motions with Henry by moving away Sam's bangs from his forehead. Dean looked back at Emma, who now held an up-and-about Henry in her arms as they watched.

"This had better work," Dean groaned.

He leaned down and placed his lips on his brother's forehead. _I love you, Sammy_.

A wave of magic, similar to the one produced by Emma, poured out from the pair as Dean rose up. His heart rate was beating like crazy as the anticipation took over.

Sam gasped and sprung up from the bed, just as Henry had. Ruby, who was still sitting at his side, squealed quietly as she jumped up to her feet.

Dean felt his entire body exhale as he watched his brother open his eyes and begin to look around, catching his breath. He finally looked over at Dean, "Hey, Sammy."

Sam, confused, looked around at his surroundings. "Dude," Sam began, still slightly out of breath, "Did you just kiss me?"

* * *

**Ahhhh! They finally broke the curse and now everyone remembers! I hope you all don't mind the little mix up I did with Dean being the one to break Sam's curse. While I do think Ruby and Sam have feelings for each other, they definitely haven't fallen in love yet! And whose love would be stronger than Sam and Dean's anyway?! Have you guys ****_seen _****the things these brothers do for each other? Anyway... I hope you all liked this chapter! Everything changes now that there's magic back. Sam and Dean will have to figure out how to live in this new environment where everything isn't just good vs bad. I wonder how they'll adjust. And I wonder how Cas is doing...**

**"Dede42: AGH! Evil cliffy! Evil cliffy! I don't want Sam and Henry to die! Update soon please!" I hope I didn't make you suffer for too long! And I hope this cliff hanger ended in a way you enjoyed! **

**"Eric the Looney: Aw nuts! Well, here comes the last game changer. Now, what's going to happen to the angel, the hunter, and the hope of the town? (hint: restoration)" I hope you enjoyed this altered version of the finale! **


	26. Chapter 26: The Aftermath

**The Hospital**

When Ruby started to apologize to Sam for whoever it was who tricked him by using her name, Dean decided to walk over to Emma and Henry on the other bed.

"So… the curse? It's broken?" he asked, looking between the mother-son duo.

Henry, quite vigorously, began to nod his head. Emma looked around at all the people in the hospital. Dr. Whale was sitting on a chair rubbing his head while Mother Superior walked over to comfort him. The team of nurses were gathered together whispering to each other, looking confused.

"Henry," Emma whispered just loud enough for him and Dean to hear, "What's going on here? If the curse is broken, why didn't they go back?"

The unspoken question that had been nagging at Dean since his brother had awoken was finally being asked. Weren't they all supposed to be transported back to their real world?

"I… I don't know," Henry replied, looking down.

The sudden clatter of a fallen tray landing on the floor made the trio jump and turn their attention to the nurse who'd dropped it.

"Are you ok?" Emma asked, but the nurse only continued to stare out the window.

Finally, they all looked out the glass and saw what had caused the nurse such a fright. A dark purple-like fog appeared from the distance engulfing every building, tree, and home that it came upon.

"What is that?" Dean asked, internally going through a check list of all the supernatural weird things he's seen. None of them involved this purple fog.

"Something bad," Henry replied.

Sam and Ruby finally joined them as they continued looking out the window. "Holy -" Sam breathed out.

"I need to go check on Granny," Ruby said. "I'm going to go down to the diner."

"We should all go," Dean requested. Emma looked up at him, curious. "Whatever _that _is, it can't be good; like the kid said. You've just broken the curse," he said to Emma, "and for some reason everyone is still here. There's going to be chaos."

"Dean's right," Mother Superior interrupted.

"I'm sorry, sister. But who are you, exactly?" Dean asked, trying to sound as genuine as possible.

The woman smiled and nodded, "I'm the Blue Fairy."

"I knew it," Henry whispered.

Dean's brow rose, "Fairies? Seriously?"

"Yes, Dean," she replied.

"So what should we do?" Emma finally spoke up. "Do you think people will be at the diner?"

Dean shrugged, "Wouldn't hurt to try."

* * *

**The Diner**

The fog began to fade as Dean, Sam, Emma, Henry, and Ruby pulled up to diner in Dean's car. Dean parked across the street to reveal a sweet scene of Mary Margaret, David, Widow Lucas, Leroy, and six other men whose names Emma wasn't exactly sure of hugging.

Emma could feel Dean watching her as she focused her eyes on Mary Margaret. Still a few steps away, Emma heard the woman speak to Leroy. "Now I find my daughter."

Emma's heart leapt from her chest. _Daughter_. "So it's true," she wanted to hear more. She _needed _to hear more. She watched the expression on both Mary Margaret and David's faces. They looked like they couldn't believe that she was standing right in front of them.

Mary Margaret was the first to smile and take a step towards Emma. She swallowed hard, unsure if she was able to accept the fact that these two individuals in front of her were in fact her parents. A tear ran down David's cheek as he looked speechless. Mary Margaret reached out to touch Emma, holding her face in her hands. Her roommate couldn't hold back the tears any longer as she finally pulled Emma in to a hug, gripping her firmly. Emma didn't know what to say; she was dumbstruck. Her mouth had dropped some time ago, but she just felt frozen.

"You found us," Mary Margaret's voice sang in her ear through her tears and joy. David finally moved over to them and, quite unsure of himself, reached out to stroke the back of Emma's hair as he finally joined them in an embrace. These were her parents. Her _parents_. An entire lifetime of searching for these people – and here they were. A lifetime of preparing for this moment – and Emma was speechless.

"Grandpa?" Emma heard Henry's voice behind her. Mary Margaret broke into a loud chuckle as they finally released Emma.

David looked down at Henry and smiled, "Yeah, kid. I suppose so." David pulled Henry in for a hug who embraced him immediately. "She did it," Henry said to David and Mary Margaret, "She saved you."

"She saved all of us," Mary Margaret said, looking at her daughter through teary eyes.

"I… well…" Emma couldn't find a response. Everyone looked so proud of her; so happy.

Leroy's voice finally broke up their family reunion. "Uh, then why are we still here?"

"That, my friend, is an excellent question," David replied. The six men who were grouped behind Leroy, which Emma assumed were the 7 dwarves, all began to talk on top of each other.

"And what was that smoke?"

"Who did this?"

"And what was that smoke?"

"And why?"

"And _what _was that smoke?"

"Magic," Mother Superior answered, walking up behind them from the direction of the hospital. "It's here. I can feel it."

Mary Margaret reached out and squeezed the fairy's hand in a warm greeting.

"Magic? In Storybrooke?" Henry spoke up from under David's arm. Under _his grandfather's _arm. "You're the Blue Fairy, do something magical."

Emma could hear Dean quietly chuckle at Henry's abrasive tact and she couldn't stop the small smile that pulled at the corner of her lips as well.

"It's not quite that simple, Henry," she answered. "No wand, no fairy dust. Matters are complicated now."

"Let's go to the person responsible for bringing it: the Queen," Leroy suggested, his brothers all voicing their support behind him.

_The Queen? _Regina. Sudden realization hit her of exactly who it was that did this. "No, wait," she said loud enough for everyone to hear her. She looked back at Dean who nodded, obviously on the same wave-link as she was. He made the connection too.

"Listen to Emma," Dean spoke up, "It wasn't Regina."

Leroy's brow creased as he gestured towards Dean. "And who _exactly _do you think you are? I don't recognize you."

Dean's eyes narrowed at the small man and Emma sighed. "I'm not from your crazy, magical world, Grumpy."

"How did you know my name, then?" Leroy said defensively, crossing his arms.

Dean broke into a laugh and looked over at Sam, who gave him the most intense bitch-face Emma had ever seen. Dean coughed, trying to appear couth. "Just a guess, actually. We were brought here by Henry to help break the curse. My brother and I," he pointed back to Sam, "we hunt evil, supernatural creatures here in this world."

"Dean!" Sam yelled, obviously unhappy with Dean revealing their secret.

"What, Sam? We're in a town that's filled with people from another world. What's more supernatural than that? Maybe we can help. But right now, we need to go to Gold's. He's the person responsible for this." Dean looked back to Emma who nodded.

When Mary Margaret and David saw Emma nod, they agreed to go with them to the Pawn Shop. As the group started walking down the street, Mary Margaret took a few quick steps to keep up with Emma's quick pace.

"Is there anything you want to ask? You must have questions," she asked Emma.

Emma sighed, "The only questions I have are for Mr. Gold. Why did he double-cross me, and what did he do to this town?"

She could hear the disappointment and hesitation in Mary Margaret's voice. "Uh – shouldn't we talk about… _it _first?"

"What?" Emma asked, knowing that she wasn't very convincing.

"Us? Your life? Everything?" the woman said with a nervous laugh at the end.

Emma saw Dean look at her from the corner of her eye as they all continued to walk. Why was he watching her like a hawk? "Can we do _everything _maybe later? Like, with a glass of wine… and several bottles?" She heard Dean quietly chuckle next to her.

"I know it's a lot to take in," David spoke up, "for all of us."

"And we don't want to push," Mary Margaret continued, "but we have waited for this moment for so long."

Emma couldn't take it anymore. "Yeah, so have I!" she said abruptly as she stopped and faced everyone. The words were finally coming to her as her brain rushed for the right order to say them all in. "I've thought about this moment my entire life. I've imagined who you might be. But of all the scenarios that I concocted, my parents being…" She couldn't say Snow White and Prince Charming. "I, I just need a little time. That's – that's all."

She watched as David's attention turned to something behind her. In a distance she heard people shouting. "Snow," David said instinctively as they all turned their attention to the noise.

Emma watched as a mass of people began running across the street, yelling and shouting. Archie ran up to them. "There you are," he said to Emma out of breath, "Come with me. I need your help. Dr. Whale's whipped everyone into a frenzy. They're going to Regina's house. They're gonna kill her."

Emma looked back at the group, glancing at Dean who was watching the mob of people.

"Great," Leroy said, "Let's watch."

"No. No, we cannot stoop to her level," Dr. Hopper tried to reason, "No matter who she is or what she's done, killing her is wrong."

"He's right," Henry cried out, "Please. She's still my mom."

Emma's heart ached for her poor son. He was right.

"He's right," Dean spoke up and a chill ran down Emma's back at how similar the two of them thought. "Trust me, I want to sock one hell of a punch to the evil bit-" he looked down at Henry mid word, "_witch_. But killing her in an angry mob isn't going to solve anything."

"We have to stop them," Emma said to her parents.

David nodded slightly, "If the Blue Fairy is right and magic is here, Regina could have her powers back. They could be marching into a slaughter."

Everyone exchanged heavy glances before they ran after the townspeople.

* * *

**I'm very exciting for the development of this story! More soon, I promise! **

**"Dede42: At least it was on the forehead for Sam, but I still wished that Ruby had woken Sam up first. Oh well, and it'll be interesting to see what happens next now that the curse is broken, plus how it'll affect Sam, Dean, and Cas." I realize it was a bit out of character for Dean to kiss his brother, but he had to save him! And Dean would do anything for his brother. I just didn't think that Sam and Ruby were "in love" enough yet for True Love's Kiss to work. I definitely think there's potential and that they do like each other. And Sam, Dean, and Cas will definitely need to adjust to this new Storybrooke! It'll be interesting. **


	27. Chapter 27: Avoiding Confrontation

**Regina's House**

Emma registered the large crowd of people that surrounded the door to Regina's house, but her eyes focused on the woman who was being cornered against a pillar. Dr. Whale was homing in on Regina. She registered that he was wrapping his hands around her neck and she sprinted to the front, pushing over all those who stood in her way.

"Let her go!" she demanded "Let her go!" Dr. Whale removed her hands but wouldn't back away until Emma physically forced him.

"Why should I listen to you?" he questioned bitterly.

She felt Dean, Mary Margaret, and David move to her side as they finally made their way through the thick crowd. "Because I am still the sheriff," she stated.

"And because she saved you. _All _of you," David say loudly, directing his words to everyone around him.

"And because no matter what Regina did," Mary Margaret began with Henry in her arms, "it does not justify _this_."

Emma leaned in to Whale and narrowed her eyes, "We are not murderers here."

"Well, we're not from this world," Whale said bluntly.

"Yeah, well, you're in it now," Dean spoke up, probably tired of being the only one not involved.

Whale vaguely began to shake his head and Emma could see the complete level of 'done' on David's face. He pushed in between Whale and Regina, "Ok, Whale. We're done."

"Back off," Whale said defensively. "You're not my prince."

_Prince_? For a split second Emma had almost forgotten that her parents were Snow White and Prince Charming – royalty.

"Who are you, Whale?" David asked, eyes narrowing in on the doctor.

"That's _my _business," he answered.

David scoffed, "Well, _my _business is making sure this town doesn't go to hell. So whether or not I'm your prince isn't the issue." Emma watched this man speak like what she always imagine a prince would speak. It was strange to watch quiet, timid David Noland transform into this entirely different person. "We have a lot to figure out, and this isn't the way to do it."

Mary Margaret jumped onto the front step next to Regina and raised her hands to the crowd, "And Regina's death _won't _provide any answers. She needs to be locked up; for her safety. And more importantly, for ours."

Emma could hear the murmurs of the crowd as they all finally agreed to this arrangement. The people were really responding to Mary Margaret and David; she guessed it was how it had always been.

* * *

**The Station**

David escorted Regina into one of the cells and then locked the door. "So I'm a prisoner now?" she asked bitterly.

"If the curse it broken, why didn't we go back?" David asked through the cell, finally addressing the question on everyone's mind.

"Because there's nothing to go back to," she retorted. "That land is gone."

Mary Margaret put a hand to David's arm, pulling his attention to her. "We should get to Gold."

"I agree," Dean spoke up. While he was glad that they'd solved this little annoying problem, he was ready to get some questions answered by the magical lizard that had double crossed them.

Emma nodded, pulling Henry into her and walking him out of the station. Dean wondered how the kid was doing, watching his mom be put in a holding cell by his newfound family.

As they walked outside Emma pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "Hey, Ruby. Could you do me a favor?" Sam had volunteered to stay behind with Ruby, Granny, the Blue Fairy, and the dwarves to make a sort of home-base at the diner. "Could you look after Henry while we go interrogate Gold? Things could get really ugly and I don't need the kid seeing that."

Henry groaned at his mother's words, probably disappointed that he was being pulled out of the action. Dean chuckled; he liked this kid.

A few minutes later a red sports car showed up to escort Henry back to the diner. Dean tried to make him feel better by telling him to ask Sam some hunting stories.

"Keep him safe, Ruby," Emma yelled as the car drove away. It was just the four of them now and somehow Dean felt like the awkward third wheel. He noticed David and Mary Margaret kept exchanging loaded glances to each other constantly while Emma did almost everything to try and avoid eye contact with either of them. He guessed that the prince and princess wanted desperately to talk to their rediscovered daughter. He felt bad for them. They've been waiting 28 years to reconnect with their daughter and they missed out on watching her grow up. And Emma was stuck on her own; lost in her own sense of the word. He couldn't imagine how any of them were feeling. "You guys ready?" Emma asked as she made her way back to the group.

"We need to talk," Mary Margaret gained an aggravated expression from David who dropped his head.

Emma, the stubborn ball of steel she was, wasn't going to go down without a few more attempts to push away. "I – well. I don't…" she nervously began to look around, trying to come up with some kind of excuse, "I just – I don't want to talk."

"Well, I do." Dean had to give the teacher credit, she had nerve. "Ok. Gold can wait. I can't. And you're my daughter. And…" Mary Margaret smiled, "I want to talk to you. I know that we _have _talked, but we didn't know that we were talking. And we talked about things we probably shouldn't have even talked about: one night stands and the like."

"One night stands?" David asked, surprised.

"Whale," she said without breaking eye contact with Emma, who hadn't looked up to meet the duo's eyes the entire conversation.

"_Whale?!"_ David said, astonished.

"We were cursed. That is neither here nor there." Dean couldn't hold in the small chuckle that escaped his lips. _We were cursed must be the new we were on a break_, he thought with another chuckle. "The point is, we didn't know that we were mother and daughter. And now we do, and so… please. Let's talk."

Dean watched Emma's shoulders shrug as she finally looked up. "Ok," she said softly. "What do you want to talk about?"

The smile on Mary Margaret's face widened, "We're together, finally." She took a deep breath, "And I can't help but think you're not happy about it."

"Oh, I am. But – see, here's the thing…" Emma looked between the pair and then to Dean. He suddenly felt like he shouldn't be there. That he was intruding on this very serious and personal topic of conversation. As they held eye contact, Dean asked in eye movement and gestures if he should leave. Emma smiled slightly and shook her head coyly, telling him no. He gave her an encouraging smile as she looked back to her parents, taking a large breath. "No matter what the circumstances, for 28 years I only knew one thing. That my parents sent me away."

"We did that," Mary Margaret interrupted, "to give you your best chance."

"You did it for everyone because that's who you are. Leaders, heroes; princes and princesses. And that's great and - and amazing and wonderful. But it doesn't change the fact that for _my _entire life – I've been alone."

Dean could tell that Mary Margaret was using all of her princess power to keep that smile on her face as she tried to make her daughter understand. "But if we hadn't sent you away, you would have been cursed too."

"But we would've been together," Emma replied. "Which curse is worse?" The smile finally faded into an astonished gasp as Mary Margaret contemplated what Emma had said. Emma took a deep sigh and finally put an end to the deep conversation. "Come on. Let's go find Gold."

Dean caught up with Emma when he noticed David and Mary Margaret had given a few strides distance between them and Emma. "You ok?" he asked softly, watching her from the corner of his eye.

"Why do keep doing that?" she asked, continuing to move forward.

"Do what?" he asked, wondering how often he had asked her if she were ok today. He couldn't recall doing it more than that once.

She sighed, "Looking at me. You keep watching me from the corner of your eye like I'm some kind of baby bird that's about to leap out of the nest too soon. What's the deal?"

"Well, to be frank, I thought my skills of watching people discretely was good enough for you not to notice," he said with a smirk.

She shook her head and a small smile began to curl on her lips. "We've got a lot in common, remember? Our ability to read people and spying on people are definitely in the top tier."

"Touché," Dean smiled. "I guess I've just been making sure that you're ok. It's been a big day with all the son saving, curse breaking, and parent gaining."

She scoffed, "_Big day _is a bit of an understatement."

"Exactly. I just don't want you to forget that I'm here for you."

"You don't have to be," she said softly, eyes staying forward. Dean gave a questionable expression that he knew Emma saw from the corner of her eye. She sighed, "Your job is done, isn't it? I mean, you came here to help break the curse. Curse broken; deed done. You promised to stay for Henry, to make sure he was ok. Henry's fine. Sam's fine. You kept all your promises; you solved the case. Nothing is keeping you here."

Dean wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but he could swear he spied a hint of sadness in her voice that only someone with decades of experience of reading people would pick up on. To be honest, he and Sam probably would have left right after the curse was broken. That is, if it had been a normal case. But Dean hadn't even thought about leaving until Emma brought it up now. There were a lot of reasonable explanations he could bring up to convince Emma that he was staying, but the simple truth of it was - he didn't _want _to leave. Emma had become someone very important to him as well as Henry. Dean had grown fond of their company and the community, even if it had just completely changed within the last couple of hours. He had feelings for Emma; but there was no way he was going to admit to that. No, he had his own way of beating around the bush: Humor.

"Have you seen Sam and Ruby? Now that he's all better there's no way I can pull him away now. I mean, he's kind of a geek and a stick-in-the-mud. So his luck with the ladies hasn't been very good. And where is he gonna get the chance to land such a catch like Ruby again?" He could see Emma smiling, though she still wouldn't turn to him. He stopped walking and grabbed ahold of Emma's arm, forcing her to stop with him. "Hey," she finally looked up at him timidly. "I also made a promise to you. I'm here for you as well as Henry. I'm here to make sure that you're ok. And I won't leave until you kick my ass out of town. Kindred spirits, remember?" That finally caused the corners of her mouth to turn up faintly as her cheeks began to deepen slightly.

"Is everything ok?" David asked when he and Mary Margaret finally caught up to them. The prince eyed Dean and he suddenly realized that this was a father scrutinizing the guy hanging out with his daughter.

"Yeah," Emma spoke up, giving a smile of relief to her parents before they turned the corner and approached Gold's Pawn Shop. She looked back at the trip before grabbing hold of the handle. "Ready?"

* * *

**Yay for Emma and Dean fluff! I felt like it had been seriously lacking with all the dragon slaying and curse breaking from the last group of chapters. I hope you enjoyed this! Next chapter we get to see the show down with the heroes and Rumble. I wonder if Dean will find something of value to him in that shop of his... And I don't mean a dwarf mug! **

**"Dede42: Once again I wake up to a new chapter, wow! Time for some SERIOUS damage control to keep Regina from being torn apart by the angry mob, but I do hope that Dean gets to punch her at least once, and I hope Cas gets free soon, too." The Cas thing will definitely be brought up in the next chapter! And I can assure you, Dean will not be happy about it! I think Dean owes a few punches to a LOT of people in this town who have taken it upon themselves to mess with his loved ones. **

**"BlueJay: this story has been a great read, looking forward to more. As much as i love Cas i love Rumple more so if they have a smack down i kinda want Rumple to win. Can't wait for Belle to make an entrance, so they see Rumple does have a heart. Ruby and Sam brilliant." Thank you for reading and enjoying my story! I'm glad you like it and appreciate you taking the time to express that. I wasn't expecting it, but I'm really starting to like this Rumple vs Cas dynamic. Because, as we all know, Rumple has this intense thirst for power that's gotten him in a lot of unfortunate positions in his past when he decides to chose that addiction over those he loves. And I put him up against this all-powerful angel who sort of rubbed it in his face back whenever Rumple was just a regular, magic-less human. But now that magic is back... Well, Cas might have met his match with the Dark One. And that's going to be so much fun to dive into and I hope that you and the other readers feel the same way. And yes, Sam and Ruby are fantastic and I'm so excited for Sam to meet Red and see how that goes ;) **


	28. Chapter 28: Golden Viewpoint

**Gold's Pawn Shop**

Mr. Gold walked through the doors of his shop, too anxious about making it back safely with the egg to notice that he hadn't turned his "Open" sign to "Closed". The sun was starting to rise and by now Mr. Gold assumed that Emma, Dean, and Regina would be returning to the hospital, leaving him free to relax for the time being. He took a deep breath and immediately smelled the aroma of something burning.

_Oh yes, _he thought with a sinister grin, _my angel's still cooking_.

He walked to his back room and was met with a very annoyed glare from the man surrounded by a roaring flame. "Rumplestilskin," the angel said with a threatening tone, "the time for games are over. Let. Me. Out."

"Tsk, tsk," Mr. Gold shook his finger. "The games haven't even begun, dearie. And this," he held up the egg, "is the _biggest _playing piece on the board."

"That egg," the angel's eyes widened, "inside it. Magic."

Mr. Gold smiled, "The most _powerful _magic."

"Why? How? What are you planning to do with it?"

"That's for me to know," Mr. Gold smirked, "and for you to sit tight and watch as the new Storybrooke is born. And we will see just who exactly the powerful one is."

The bell on the door to the front of his shop chimed, alerting them that someone was here. Mr. Gold frowned, wondering if Emma, Dean or Regina had made their way back to him. In the very manor that was Rumplestilskin, he walked out to face them.

"I'm afraid the shop's closed -"

He stopped cold in his tracks. For a second, all of his senses died as he stared at the unbelievable creature that was walking towards him.

"Are you Mr. Gold?" It took every fiber of his being to nod downward slightly, still unable to process exactly what was going on. "I was, uh. I was told to – to find you. And tell you that, Regina locked me up."

Regina? Locked her up? But she… She had told him that this very creature had died; taken her own life after his selfish and cowardly ways had driven her away. But no. She was here – right in front of him.

"Does that – does that mean anything to you?"

He walked over to her. She looked like she hadn't seen sunlight in years. Her hair resembled that of a woman who had just woken up from 28 years of lying in a bed without access to a brush. While she had on some kind of scratchy looking coat, underneath she had on what looked like a hospital gown.

_Locked up_.

He had to touch her – he had to know whether she was real or if his eyes were playing tricks on him. He reached out and grabbed hold of her shoulder. Flesh and bones. She was real. His Belle.

"You're real," he heard himself say, though he still had no control over his body. "You're alive. She did this to you?"

"I was told you'd protect me," she replied, looking at him curiously.

He felt his emotions finally come to a boil, "Oh yes." He couldn't contain himself any longer as he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the small woman, grateful that he was being given a second chance. "Yes, I'll protect you."

"I'm – I'm sorry. Do I know you?" he heard her say against him.

He pulled away from her, but refused to let go for fear that this was just a mirage and she would suddenly vanish. Did she know him? The curse. "No. But you will." She gave him a confused look, but nodded regardless. "We must do something first, and then everything will be well. No one will ever be able to hurt you again."

* * *

**The Forest**

Mr. Gold led the way through the forest as Belle followed, still confused. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept past him, but he was too preoccupied with his destination to take note of it.

"Wait," he heard behind him.

"No, no. We're very close."

"Rumplestilskin," he stopped in his tracks, "wait." _Did she… _he turned around, almost too scared to face her. She caught up to him, a slight smile on her face as she examined his more closely. "I… I remember. I love you."

_I love you, _the words echoed through his body. It'd been so long, so very long since the possibility of someone saying the words to him was real. It'd taken him a long time to accept that someone could _actually _love him, truly. But this glorious woman whose lips graced the words before him was real. He felt it. A smiled consumed Mr. Gold's face as this magnificent woman smiled back up to him. Her beautiful face and soul. They reached for each other at the same time as they embraced in a hug.

"Yes, yes. And I love you, too." He remembered why they were here; his mission. He pulled away from her, "But hey, there'll be time for that. There'll be time for everything. But first, there's something I must do."

He walked over to the wishing well. "What is this?" Belle asked.

"This is a very special place, Belle. The waters that run below are said to have the power to return that which one has lost."

He stepped up onto the ledge and pulled out the vile of True Love, opening it and dropping it down to the depths. A faint splash was heard, then a blast of wind blew out of the mouth of the well. Suddenly, purple fog began to rise and run over the edge. Belle hopped back a little as the fog began to run across her legs. It seemed never ending; the fog just kept pouring over the edge. The fog began to rise as it expanded past the forest and towards the town.

"I don't understand," Belle questioned as she watched the fog.

"We're in a land without magic power," he wrapped his arm around Belle, "and I'm bringing it. Magic is coming."

"Why?"

"Why? Because magic _is power_."

After a few minutes, the fog began to fade and Mr. Gold waited to feel that ultimate feel of power that magic had provided him back in the Enchanted Forest. He felt it.

Mr. Gold smiled a triumphant smile as he turned his attention back to his love. His love who had been locked up; locked up by Regina. Suddenly, he needed to know more. "My darling Belle, you have to tell me what happened to you."

"I was abducted," she replied.

"Regina," it wasn't a question.

She nodded, "She locked me away into her curse and I've been in the asylum ever since."

"For 28 years," a look of disgust filled his face. She nodded again. "How did you escape?"

"A man named Jefferson released me, told me where to go. I don't know how he knew I was there."

Mr. Gold let all of this information register. "All these years, you've been here. Alive." He was getting angry.

"Is that – is that why you did this? Why you wanted magic? For revenge?" she queried.

He shook his head, "No, no. But it might come in handy."

"No. _No," _she protested.

"I cannot let this stand, Belle. I _will not _let this stand," he lashed out.

"Look. Promise me," she reached for his hand, "Promise me you won't give in to your hate. Promise me you won't kill her. Promise me, and we can be together."

His heart leapt a beat as he listened to her speak. He reached out and stroked her face. "Sweetheart… I promise." They reached for each other as their lips met. Their first kiss since he threw her out of his castle. She rested her head on his shoulder as he thought about what he'd just promised to.

He couldn't kill Regina, but every ounce of the Dark One inside of him wanted to do nothing but.

* * *

**Gold's Pawn Shop**

Mr. Gold had dropped Belle off at his house after remembering that he had a hostage angel in the back of his shop. That was definitely something he didn't feel like elaborating on at the moment.

After explaining how to work the shower, finding some clothes for her to wear, setting out something for her to eat, and introducing her to his personal book collection in his den, he felt like she was safe for the time being. It would be a trip trying to explain to her how to use modern appliances and understand modern customs.

He smiled when he thought about it as he walked to the cabinet that held the item he needed. He pulled on his gloves as he unlocked the cabinet and pulled out a small, golden item. He opened it up to reveal a medallion with an ancient Chinese symbol on the front. His ticket to getting everything he wanted.

* * *

**The Station**

"We should get Gold," Mary Margaret's voice echoed through the station to the corner where Mr. Gold was hiding as he waited for the motley crew to leave.

"I agree."

When he heard the sound of the front doors closing with a lock, Mr. Gold knew he was in the clear to make his grand appearance. So he could have his one-on-one time with Regina.

He watched as Regina tried to use her magic to open the lock to her cell, but failed.

"Magic is different here, dearie."

She glared at him. "I noticed. I assume this is all your doing."

"Most things are," he replied, never breaking eye contact.

"Get to it, Rumple. What do you want?" Regina asked. "You here to finish the job?"

"No, no, no," he replied, taking a look around the station. He recalled the last time the two of them had been alone here together. When the roles were reversed and she threatened his most precious item for the sake of learning whether he knew who he was. Who he _really _was. He was enjoying being on this side of the bars. "You're safe from me."

"I feel so relieved," Regina replied sarcastically.

He leaned against the desk, "I made a promise to someone that I won't kill you."

She scoffed slightly, "Who could elicit that from you?"

"Belle."

He watched as her expression changed as she realized what this meant. In her classic manipulative form, she played dumb. "She's alive?"

"You are," he threatened, "a dreadful liar."

"I could've killed her. But I didn't."

He rose from the desk and took a few steps towards her, "Yeah, you did much worse than that. You kept her alive, so you could kill her when it suited you." He kept tabs on where her hands were positioned on the bars. "A fate worse than death. Which, incidentally, is exactly what I've got in store for you."

In one swift move, he pulled out the medallion with one hand and grabbed her hand with his other. He pulled her arm through the bars until she was pressed against them. He pushed the medallion into her hand.

"Is that…" she said, panicked.

"Yes, dearie. The one thing no one can escape: Destiny. And I promise, yours is particularly unpleasant."

He let go of her hand and she pulled herself away from him and the bars. She looked down at her hand to see the burnt imprint on her palm. The mark.

"Oh," he mocked, a laugh escaping from his lungs as justice began to course through his body.

He walked out of the station to an area of the woods that he knew no one would be passing. As he dropped the medallion to the ground, he pulled out the dagger that bared his name. He held it up and recited, "The Dark One summons thee." Then he bent down and planted the dagger into the ground next to the chain, releasing the magic and opening the pathway for the evil that inhabited such a trinket.

Black smoke rose from the medallion as a black creature rose with it, growling as it grew and ascended into the air.

The Wraith.

* * *

**Gold's Pawn Shop**

Mr. Gold knew his time was coming to an end; luckily he had been fortunate enough to get all his errands done in the meantime.

He put on a pot of hot water to make some tea as he waited patiently for Emma and the gang to make their appearance.

The chime of his door bells brought a satisfied smile to his lips as the very same people walked through his doorway.

"What can I do for you?"

* * *

**I hoped you enjoyed this little section of what exactly Rumple has been up to in the spare time while our heroes have been dealing with the town! It was strange writing from Rumple's point of view, but I hope I brought it at least a bit of justice! **

**"Dede42: Cas vs Gold is up next! Still I expect Dean to deck someone soon before the night's out, and it'll be interesting to see how the Winchesters will deal with that Wraith from the Enchanted Forest that'll be coming after Regina." Not so much this chapter, but I can guarantee that when Dean figures out what's been holding Cas up for so long he's going to raise Hell! (again! lol)**

**"crusnik08: since this takes place during the apocalypse will Michael and Lucifer be making appearances don't think they would want there vessels hurt" Definitely! But not for a few more chapters. I expect quite a few Supernatural characters to start making appearances now that the curse is broken and the shield around Storybrooke is gone. Greg won't be the only out-of-towner to "stumble" into Storybrooke! **

**"Eric the Looney" I'm not going to include your reviews for Chapters 25-27 strictly because of the length. But I will reply to bits and pieces here. (Ch 25) I have to disagree with you, I think that Emma has a very intense guilt complex, especially when it comes to Henry. Also, I'm glad you liked Sam's "dude, did you just kiss me?" line lol I thought it would be a good way to lighten up a dark moment for Dean. (Ch 27) I'm not sure if you read these chapters out of order, or if you just reviewed out of order. Anyway. I'll definitely be addressing Sam soon enough and it's something that I'm really excited about. In future chapters he's going to have a huge role to play and it's going to be interesting seeing his relationship with Ruby and him having to meet Red. And your last point, I think I addressed that a bit in my response to crusnik08's review question above that I hope will satisfy you for now. (Ch 26) I don't really have much of a response to this review. I'm sorry you felt a tad underwhelmed, but it wasn't supposed to be a very exciting chapter. **


	29. Chapter 29: Down Time

**Granny's**

"So," Ruby began as she walked over to Sam sitting at the bar top, sliding him a bottle of water. "Hunters?"

Sam chuckled and looked around. Sitting at a group of tables were the seven… dwarves? Sam still couldn't get completely used to the town. The seven men were sitting around catching up with each other. It was actually really sweet. They were brothers, it was obvious. Granny, on the other hand, had a bit more bite to her than the sweet, lovable grandmother act she had during the curse. The first thing the woman did was pull out her crossbow. The nun, who was apparently the Blue Fairy, was also here with Dr. Hopper, who actually was Jiminy Cricket. There were a couple of other people coming in that Ruby would greet (or re-greet) and make them feel safe and secure. Sam had watched as Ruby took over completely as Dean, Emma, and the others had gone off to find Mr. Gold.

Ruby gave him a nudge, reminding him that she'd asked a question. "Um, yeah. Sort of. I mean, that's the basic title of our occupation."

"But instead of bears and deer it's, what? Supernatural things? I thought this world didn't have any magic?"

Sam noticed that Ruby's personality had changed dramatically since the curse had broken. While she was still outgoing and a bit flirty, she had calmed down some. She seemed more sure of herself; more mature. She took action when action needed to be taken. Something Sam was starting to really like about her.

He sighed, trying to figure out the best way to explain things. "Generally, yes. It's not really the same kind of magic that your land has, I assume. From what I've learned and experienced, there's a God and his angels and demons. And then there's other gods from ancient myths, some real, some not so real, who have their own spirits or monsters or curses. We don't really know where they come from. Our angel friend, Castiel, mentioned that there are other worlds. Some have magic, some don't. And sometimes magic seeps through."

"I see," she said with a nod. Sam was actually quite impressed. Most people didn't react this rationally. Then again, the idea to her probably wasn't so farfetched in relation to where she came from. "How long have you and your brother been hunting?"

Sam sighed, "My whole life. Remember how I told you my mom died when I was a baby? It was a demon. My dad was hell-bent on finding the evil thing that did it and learned all about the hunting lifestyle. Took my brother and me on the road with him while he pretty much killed every evil son of a bitch he crossed paths with. I can't think back to a time when I wasn't wary of the dark."

"Sounds awful," Ruby said, sympathetically. "You don't sound like you liked it very much."

"Who would?" Sam scoffed. "Only sticking around in one place no longer than a few months at a time. Hopping from school to school, hotel to hotel. Being left alone for days, sometimes weeks, at a time while dad was off god knows where hunting something. Never knowing whether he was going to come back. I hated it. What life is that?"

He looked up to meet her intent eyes watching him as he told his story. "That's why you left. When you went to college."

"I got out," he said weakly.

"Your girlfriend," her eyes already knew the answer, "Your brother wasn't just taking you on a road trip to feel better after her death, was he?"

Sam half-smiled, impressed by her intuition. "No. The same demon that killed my mom… killed her. That, and my dad had gone missing. My brother came and got me. After a year, we finally found the demon responsible. But, um – dad didn't make it. A year after that, we finally found and killed the bastard."

Ruby reached out and grabbed Sam's hand, pulling him out of his memories. He smiled at her, squeezing her hand as a thank you.

Sam's phone buzzed and he looked down at the screen. He chuckled. "Got a text from Dean: _The wicked bitch of the West isn't dead, the Scooby gang and I are transporting her to the Sheriff station ATM. Everything cool over there? Anything magical or supernatural to report?_" He decided to leave out the part where Dean asked if Sam and Ruby were 'playing nice'.

He send a quick response.

"So, what are the things you usually hunt?" Ruby asked after assisting some people who'd just walked in who had come from the angry mob from Regina's.

Sam felt a bit helpless. Usually in a job or case he'd be doing research or something productive. But there was nothing for him to do. "Um, all kinds of things. The most common things are ghosts and spirits who haunt people or places. We've come across a few cursed objects and places; which is what attracted us to this place, actually. Lately we've been having to deal with a lot of demons and angels. Oh, and monsters."

"What kind of monsters?" she asked, a little uneasy. He wondered if they had monsters over in her land.

He shrugged. "All kinds. Vampires, shape shifters, black dogs, pagan gods, witches, genies, rugaru, skinwalkers – god there's so many," he chuckled. "Oh, and werewolves, of course."

Ruby's smile dropped as she looked down at her hands, "Of course." Her whole demeanor seemed to change. Her shoulders were tense and Sam had noticed she'd moved back slightly from him. She cleared her throat, "And you just kill these things? Why? Because they don't belong in _your _world."

Sam's brow creased as he was taken aback by her sudden attitude change. "I, um. No. Well, sort of. It's more complicated than that. We find things that are killing people; evil. That's what reels us in, really. A body count. We're just trying to save people."

Ruby nodded, though she still seemed uneasy. "What are you and your brother going to do now? The curse is broken and we're still stuck here. A steaming pile of magical and supernatural characters, just sitting ducks."

"Ruby," Sam tried to reassure, reaching for her hand. Though she tensed a little, she relaxed a bit and finally looked up at him. He noticed that anger wasn't in her eyes, but fear. He realized she was fearful of her town's safety. Of her people. "We're here to help you guys. This is your turf, we're playing by your rules here. Please, don't worry. You can trust us."

She forced a smile and nodded. A ring came from Ruby's back pocket. She pulled it out and answered it. "Emma, is everything ok?... Alright… No problem. I'll be there right away."

"What's up?" Sam asked, curious.

Ruby jumped up from her seat and grabbed her car keys from behind the bar. "Emma asked if I could pick up Henry and sort of keep him out of the fire while they go find Mr. Gold."

When she left Sam felt his own phone vibrate. He looked at the ID: Bobby.

"Sam, where the hell have you and your brother been? I've been trying to get ahold of you for days and your damn cell phones haven't been working!"

"Bobby, Bobby, calm down. We're in Storybrooke, Maine. We've been here since we left your place a few days ago," Sam replied.

He heard Bobby shuffling a few papers around on the other side of the line. "You mean that bogus invisible, cursed town? You actually found it?"

"Yeah, and we broke the curse. Actually, Dean and I didn't really have anything to do with it. But get this: it's a town full of fairy tale characters."

"Are you out of your mind, boy? Or have you and Dean found yourself in Disney World?"

Sam chuckled, "No, Bobby. It's true. They were sent here from their world, the Enchanted Forest, through some kind of powerful curse. We aren't exactly sure who's responsible or why they haven't all been sent back since the curse was broken. But we are going to stick it out here until we can help them figure it out."

"This is weird, Sam. This ain't our normal line of work. You and your brother be careful and don't go doing anything brash! We don't need a bunch of pissed off fairy god mothers on our asses."

"We won't. I'm pretty sure Dean has a thing for the woman who broke the curse, so I don't think he'll try to do anything to piss her off. We might need your help if we can't figure out what's going on or how to get everyone back."

"I'll start doing some research on curses and parallel worlds. See if I can dig up anything on this Enchanted Forest. Send me the coordinates and I'll make my way over there in the next couple of days. This is definitely something that I'd like to see."

Sam laughed, "Alright Bobby. We'll keep you updated. Take care."

When Ruby got back Sam was still a little worried that she was upset with him. Perhaps he offended her with something he said; honestly, he had no clue. He tried to assure her that Dean and Sam wouldn't do anything rash. This wasn't their usual case.

If it was, they would have probably gone after Regina and accused her of being a witch for trying to kill Henry and himself. By the hunter's standards, that's what she was. But this was different. In her own world, the woman was just that - a woman. Sure, she was a witch also. But magic was allowed in her world; sorcery was allowed. Sam and Dean were in a whole new ballpark now and they were going to have to deal with these shift of rules.

Henry followed Ruby into the diner, looking positively depressed as he sulked down to the seat next to him. Ruby went to the back and fixed him up a grilled cheese after handing over a soda.

"Why so down, Henry?" Sam asked, nudging him a little, "You just helped break the curse! We should be celebrating!"

Henry groaned, "Yeah, but now I'm stuck here being babysat while all the action is out there with my family."

Sam understood the kid's pain. He used to groan and moan about being left out of cases and hunts that Dean and his dad would go on before he was old enough. "They're just going to talk to Gold to find out why he double crossed Dean and your moms, I think the dragon slaying is done."

"Pft. I know why. He's Rumplestilskin! He's always doing that," Henry said very matter-of-fact-like.

Sam chuckled. "Well, _we _didn't know that. Why don't you tell me a little bit more about Rumplestilskin. You probably know him better than most of the people here thanks to that book."

Henry smiled a bit and nodded. "You're probably right. OK," he said excitedly as he positioned himself towards Sam more, "First of all, he wasn't always a bad guy."

"They never are," Sam interjected.

"True! Like it says in the book: Evil isn't born, it's made." Sam was subtly shocked by that phrase. It was something that he never thought on before, though he wasn't sure if it completely applied to their line of work. "Anyway. Like, more than 300 years ago, he was just a seamstress who was married. But there was a war. An Ogre war that drafted every man no matter what their family life. While he was away he came across a seer, who told him that he was going to have a son, but his actions in the wars were going to cause him to lose him. Or something like that. So, Rumplestilskin injured himself; I'm pretty sure that's where his bad leg comes from. He was sent home to his wife and new baby boy, Baelfire. But because he bailed out of the wars, he was called a coward. A few years later, his wife ran away leaving him with just his son. When Baelfire was about to turn the drafting age, Rumplestilskin was worried that his young son was going to be sent to battle. Until someone told him of a creature called the Dark One. If you possessed his dagger, you could control him. If you killed him with the dagger, you could become him. Rumplestilskin found the dagger and killed the prior Dark One, and gained the powers himself. The powers sort of poisoned you and he began to turn evil. In an attempt to fix his father, Baelfire requested help from the Blue Fairy for a way to fix him. She gave him the very last magical bean that could transport them to other worlds, where they could be together."

"Let me guess, the kid went but Gold was too cowardly to go with him?" Sam guessed, very intrigued with the story.

Henry nodded. "I'm pretty sure he's been trying to find a way to get back to him since, though I don't know how."

"So do you pretty much know who everyone's counterpart is around here?" Sam asked as Ruby came back with Henry's food.

Henry smiled up at Ruby, who gave him a narrow glare. "I know some. Like Ruby's!"

Ruby shook her head. "I'm just Red Riding Hood."

_"Just!?"_ Henry exclaimed.

Sam looked up at Ruby with a questionable look, but she kept her glare on Henry. "Just."

"So, who's the Big Bad Wolf, then?" Sam said with a chuckle.

Ruby shook her head. "Enough about us. We want to hear one of your stories."

"My stories?" Sam asked.

Henry began to nod vigorously as he took a few bites of his sandwich. "Oh yeah! Dean said that you would tell us some."

"Some of them are a little scary," Sam warned.

"So," Ruby and Henry said in unison.

Sam laughed and shook his head. "Alright, alright. Let me tell you about the time we hunted a Wendigo."

* * *

**I wanted to add in this chapter because I felt like Sam was being left out. I'll update soon so we can get back to the action! **

**"Eric the Looney" Well, this crossover was inspired by the connection I made with Dean and Emma. So it's definitely going to lead to a romance between the two of them at some point, though I think it's already started some. And yes, I'm very excited to pit the two shows together and their villain/heroes. **

**"BA Sammy Girl: Cas vs Gold! Can't wait to see" It'll be pretty intense! **

**"Dede42: It used to be rare for me to wake up to a new chapter, but not anymore. I'm looking forward to see just how pissed Dean will be when he finds Cas locked up, and what he and Sam will do when they cross paths with the Wraith and they find that the usual methods won't work to destroy it. Personally, the Wraith reminds me of the Dementors in Harry Potter." I bet it will remind our boys (mainly Sam lol) about Harry Potter too! ;) **

**"Pri-Chan 1410: I wonder what will happen now! please update soon!" I'm glad you're enjoying it! :) I will! **

**"crusnik08: thank you for answering my reply but another question has bothered me if this story continues will storybrooke be there for the final battle or the war with Rachael or dick roman what about Gabriel is this before he gets shived by Lucifer and the colt would the cold work on these people if found and used?" I should put a disclaimer at the beginning of the first chapter explaining where the timelines fall for the two different stories. I'm sorry! For Once, it's near the end of Season 1, as you could tell. And for Supernatural it's about the middle/end of Season 5. After Jo and Ellen died, but before the final face off between them and Lucifer. So they're still having to deal with Michael and Lucifer wanting their vessels (as Dean explains to Emma in one of the first chapters) and the oncoming apocalypse. I hope that helped some! :) **

**"Grace: Dude, did you kiss me?" :) **

**"Guest: Mauhaha" Lol evil laughter. **


	30. Chapter 30: Angels and Demands

**Gold's Pawn Shop **

"What you can do is tell us what you did," Emma demanded as she slammed her hands on the counter.

Dean watched as Emma had transformed from sweet, blushing Emma to bailbonds Emma in just a few steps between the door and the counter. He was actually very impressed by her intimidation and almost forgot that he also had an interrogation job to do.

Mr. Gold wasn't going to play along, however. "I'm sorry. You're gonna have to be more specific."

"You know damn well what we're talking about," David spoke up and Dean finally had his head back into the mission. He glared at Gold as the evil lizard took a glance between him and David.

"You double-crossed Emma, you took her potion from her," Mary Margaret interjected.

It was Dean's turn to speak up. "And not to mention that very discreet fog of purple whatever that covered the town _right _after the curse broke. I'm sure you know nothing about that."

"And worst of all, you risked Henry's life. And Sam's." Emma wrapped up all the man's crimes.

Mr. Gold sighed, "Well, that is quite a litany of grievances, now isn't it?"

"Maybe I don't need answers," Emma growled, "Maybe I just need to punch you in the face."

Dean couldn't help the smirk that spread across his lips. Now, more than ever, he understood what Henry meant when he said that the pair were so much alike.

Mr. Gold chuckled, "Ohhh. Really, dearie?" He started to move from behind his counter and Dean was hot on his trail to move to the other side of the group. Ready to cut him off if he tried anything. "Allow me to answer your questions with some of my own. Did your dear boy, Henry, survive?"

"Yeah," Emma answered.

"Is the curse broken?" Dean looked at Emma who only responded with a roll of her eyes and a look towards the ground. "And, let's see. Uh, Miss Swan, how long have you been searching for your parents? Looks like you're reunited. Seems like rather a punch in the face, I deserve a thank you."

"You messed with this woman's entire life, you jack ass!" Dean couldn't hold in it any longer. "You messed with _everyone's _life!"

"I think the person responsible for those accusations," Mr. Gold said in a bored response, trying to ignore the hunter, "is the woman you all just locked away."

Dean shook his head, "You're both at fault. I don't know exactly what you did, Rump, but you're just to blame as the witch. I know evil; I've gone head to head with the Devil himself." He took a few steps closer to Gold and pointed at him. "You lied to Emma and me. You stole from us. _You _did something to this town. And we are not leaving until _our _questions are answered."

"What was the purple haze that you brought?" Emma asked, walking up beside Dean.

Mr. Gold looked between the two and turned his attention to Emma. 'Oh, you know. Magic," he rose his hand in a theatric display.

"Why?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Not telling," Gold teased.

A sudden aroma hit Dean; something was burning. But not a usual wood or gasoline fire. It was something he knew, something he couldn't quite place his finger on.

"What's burning?" he said loudly, looking back to the doorway that separated this room to the back. "It smells like, like burning… Oil." Oil? Burning? _Holy oil_. "Cas," he said as he stared at Gold's face, who only smiled. "Cas!"

He ran back through the doorway, pushing back the drapes as he came face to face with his angel standing in the middle of a fiery ring of burning holy oil. "Dean!" Cas called when he saw him.

Furious, Dean ripped off the drapes that hung in the doorway just as Emma came rushing to Dean's side to see what was going on. "Cas?"

"Hello, Emma," Castiel greeted with a relieved smile. Dean ran over to him and started patting out the fire with the drapes until there was enough of a break in the flames for Cas to transport out of. Dean looked up and noticed he had already done so, popping back up next to Emma. "Congratulations on breaking the curse."

"Um, uh. Thanks," Emma replied, jumping to his reappearance next to her.

"If you'll excuse me, I must confront the man who trapped me," Cas said as he walked out of the room and onto the floor room. "_Rumplestilskin_."

"Oh good," Mr. Gold said with a sly smile. "The monkey let the mouse out of the trap. I was wondering how long it would take the ape."

"Apes and monkeys are two different-"

"What the hell did you do? _Why_?" Dean demanded, interrupting Cas' rambling, as he pushed his way in front of the angel between him and Gold.

Mr. Gold cocked his head, still holding his smile as he simply replied. "He was in the way. What else was I supposed to do?"

"You little…" Cas growled as he tried to push his way past Dean.

"There were people in trouble, you dick! Castiel could have helped!" Dean yelled, furious that not only Sam, but Cas had been messed with while in this town.

"_No_ he couldn't," Gold snarled at Dean. "It was not his place. It was not _your _place. It is not _my _fault that you and your brother and your _angel _decided to pop into a town where you didn't belong. This was _Emma's _responsibility. It was _her _destiny."

"It was only her destiny because you said it was," Dean berated, "You can't mess with people's lives just because you want to!"

"I _have_," Mr. Gold said between his teeth. "I _will. _And I'll continue for as long as I need to. You know why? Because I _can_. And now that magic is back, not even an angel can stop me."

Dean's fist made contact with Gold's face so fast that both Emma and Mary Margaret had gasped. Mr. Gold stumbled backwards and dabbed his nose, which was beginning to bleed. His hand glowed as he waved it across his hand, and his face was no longer red and his nose no longer bled.

"Impressive," Dean mocked. "But he can do that too," he gestured towards Cas. Emma moved beside Dean and put her hands on his bawled up fist, stopping him from taking another swing.

Suddenly, the ground shook around them and Dean reached out to Emma for stability. Everything in the shop began to rattle; then it stopped. Car alarms were going off and the wind outside had picked up tremendously.

"What the hell was that?" Emma asked as David ran to the door to look out the window.

Dean kept an eye on Gold, who hadn't batted an eye at the sudden disturbance. "_That _is my gift to you. _That _is gonna take care of Regina."

The ground began to shake again as the electricity from street lights and signs began to burst. Exploding bulbs, the ground shaking, the sound of thunder or some kind of growl coming from above. "Demons?" was Dean's first thought. He looked back to Cas who simply shook his head, informing him that there weren't any demons around.

Dean and Emma both looked back at Gold with suspicion, wondering what it was exactly the man had done.

"Emma," Mary Margaret called from the doorway.

"We need to go take care of this," David finished.

Emma homed in on Gold, "We're not done."

"Oh, I know. You still owe me a favor," he said with a pointed finger. Emma walked over to her parents as Dean stood in front of Gold. "Go on, little soldier. And take your angel with you."

"We _will _be back," Dean threatened, gesturing for Cas to follow him out.

"It was nice while it lasted," Mr. Gold called out as they walked out the door. "Take care, _Castiel_."

* * *

**I wonder if Dean or Sam will know any information on how to handle a Wraith! Or Rumple! I hope you all enjoyed this little face off. I know there were some people who have been waiting on Dean or Emma to sock someone, so I thought this was a good opportunity! I'm sure it felt good. Also, I don't think Rumple likes Dean very much... lol. **

**"Dede42: Sam better not give Henry nightmares with the Wendigo story, and I hope Sam doesn't panick if he learns that Ruby IS the bad wolf; it'll be interesting to see how Bobby will react when he reaches Storybrooke. Up next: the Wraith!" I think that'll be the biggest plot twist for Sam! I doubt it's a Red Riding Hood story that he's never read before! **

**"Eric the Looney: Oh, lighten up ruby. Sam wouldn't kill someone he likes. Especially if he gives you back your hood. Still, you would think that if Henry read about how rumplestilskin got his limp, then you might think he would k" I think it didn't post your entire review lol. Or some technical stuff happened. Anyway, I sort of grabbed this from the Once book, Reawakened. Apparently Rumple's story was in Henry's book, at least the part about how he lost his son and all. I guess if Henry or someone really thought on it hard, they could make the connection that Bae was sent here, and Rumple knows that which is why he made the curse to send them here. But according to the story that Henry knows, Bae was just sent to some other world. Maybe Sam will figure it out... After he deals with Ruby and all that lol. **

**"crusnik08: when they get deaths ring will he make his presents known to storybrooke and give them a talking to cause death does like to give his lil speeches him and all the big players there having a talk would be interesting" Haha! Could you imagine Rumple and Death together having a talk? Rumple would try to be all big and bad and Death would totally just tear him down lol. That would be very interesting. I think Death has a soft spot for Dean. I mean, Dean's died so many times that they're probably old friends by now! lol. **


	31. Chapter 31: The Wraith

"We can't just let him get away with that!" Dean yelled once the group left the shop. Emma turned to him and saw the furious look on his face.

David walked past her and confronted him. Emma was still getting used to this abrasive, no nonsense side of the man. "We will deal with him another time. Right now there's something out here and it's our job to stop it. You're either with _us _or you can _leave_, Winchester!"

Emma looked between the two men, neither of them dropping their glare towards the other. A loud growl from above caused all them to duck down as some kind of black, flying creature flew past them, taking out all the street lights around them as it passed. They all stood up, dumbstruck, except Dean.

"What the hell was that?" Emma yelled.

Castiel finally spoke up. "That's a Wraith roaming the town and it's after the Queen. Rumplestilskin marked her."

"A wraith?" the group asked in unison.

"How do you know that's what that was, Cas?" Dean asked.

Cas looked at Dean with a curious gaze, "I'm an angel, Dean. I thought you would have gotten used to my celestial knowledge and ability by now."

Dean rolled his eyes and looked back at the group. "An angel?" David wasn't so convinced. "Who are you people and how can we trust you?"

"Really?" Dean turned towards the hot-headed man, "We're going to get into that right now? I fought a dragon and came here to help break the curse. Now I'm helping you with this wraith. You are _not _about to stand there and question my loyalties."

Dean pulled out his phone and started to dial a number. David wasn't through yet. "You also say you're some kind of hunter of the supernatural in this world where there isn't supposed to be any magic. Excuse me if I believe there's some kind of wrinkle in that. Not to mention, you kissed my daughter!"

Everyone turned to look between Emma and Dean. Dean's mouth had dropped and then closed quickly while Emma's eyes widen and she blushed. She looked back at Mary Margaret who tried to hide her guilty face from her.

"You kissed the princess?" Cas asked Dean.

"What – I, ugh." Emma was annoyed that _this _was what David was worried about. "Can you please not call me that and can we please focus here. Look, David. Dean has helped out big time. Not to mention his life and his family and friends have also been messed with since he got here. I trust him," she looked David in the eyes when she said that last part. It was a huge triumph for her to say that she trusted someone, and she wanted them to know just how much that meant. David nodded, though he still didn't look pleased. "And Dean, who the hell are you calling right now?"

Dean cleared his throat as he pressed the phone to his ear, still looking a bit uneasy after David mentioned the kiss. "I'm calling Sam to see what he knows about these wraiths so we can figure out how to kill it."

They started walking back towards the station while Dean finally got Sam on the line.

"Sam! Hey, pull out dad's journal and see if there's anything you can tell me about wraiths." Emma moved next to Dean so she could hear the conversation better after Dean put Sam on speaker.

_"Wraiths? Like, dementors from Harry Potter?" _

"What from who?" Emma smirked at Dean's lack of understanding.

_"Never mind. Hold on, let me find the page... Here. The word wraith derives back from like the 1500's. There's a couple of different variations of the legend. Um, one says that it's a spirit or apparition that's commonly seen as an omen that the person is about to die. Another says that they appear as humans and feed off of their brains with a thin spike that comes from the wrist. The last describes the wraith as a flying creature dressed in a black robe and their face isn't visible. They're soul suckers, but they don't just randomly go around stealing souls. They have to be marked by this ancient medallion that's like burned in their skin." _

The gang was getting closer to the station and Emma was getting wary as she listened to Sam talk about all these different monsters.

"Alright, the last one fits the bill. How do we stop it?"

_"Is there one here in town?" _

"Yeah, it's after the mayor. Gold brought it and marked her. We're on our way to the station now. How do we stop it?"

_"Um… Light. They bring darkness with them wherever they go, which now explains why the sky turned dark so abruptly." _

"So flashlights? Lamps? What?" Emma asked as they finally made it to the station.

_"Try fire. If the street lights and car alarms are any indication, I think this thing has some kind of control on electricity. Do you guys need back-up?" _

"Naw, we're here now. If we don't get it this time, I'll let you know. I'll call or stop by afterwards. Thanks, Sam. Henry ok?"

Emma smiled at Dean's query, about to ask the same thing.

_"Yeah, I've been telling him hunting stories and he's been telling me some of his storybook stories. Good luck, guys."_

They all looked at each other before David opened the door. They could see the lights inside flickering, a good indication that the Wraith was already there. Emma hoped they weren't too late. Henry would be devastated if something happened to Regina.

They all ran in. David, Cas, and Emma went towards the holding cell while Mary Margaret and Dean searched the supply closet for some kind of aerosol and lighters.

Emma stopped in her tracks when she saw the floating creature, it's long, boney hand reached out with a blue light extending to Regina's face. Emma was watching the wraith physically pull out Regina's soul.

"Hey!" David called out, throwing a chair at the creature.

The wraith turned and threw the chair away from it, causing Emma to duck. The wraith turned its attention to David, throwing him across the room. Emma didn't know what to do. She wasn't used to this crap. Evil people were one thing; but evil magical _creatures _were another. She was paralyzed.

Dean and Mary Margaret ran back into the room, a lighter and aerosol container in both of their hands. The wraith had gone back to sucking the soul out of Regina while Mary Margaret snuck up next to it.

"Over here!" She lit the lighter and pressed down on the can, sending a cloud of fire towards the creature. Dean joined her, moving in front of Regina so the wraith couldn't return to finish her off. It growled loudly as it broke a window near the ceiling and flew away.

Emma ran over to Dean and Regina, both of them helping her up off the floor. Emma tried not to mentally keep count of how many times Emma had saved this woman's life or helped her against the many times that she tried to frame her, put her in jail, or kill her.

"Do you know what that was?" Dean asked.

Regina, trying to catch her breath as she allowed Emma to help her up replied, "A wraith; soul-sucker."

"Did we-"Mary Margaret began.

"Kill it?" Regina finished her thought. "No. It's regenerating. It'll be back. It doesn't stop until it devours its prey." She held up her hand as they all looked at the scorched markings burned on her palm. "Me."

"So how do we kill it?" Emma asked, ready for this whole thing to be over.

Regina looked down, still regaining her energy. "There's no way. You can't kill something that's already dead."

Dean scoffed. "Lady, if you only _knew _my line of work. I pretty much do nothing _but _kill things that are already dead."

"Then what do you suggest, Winchester?" Regina asked. Despite her tone, Emma could spy a hint of relief in her face.

"It doesn't matter," David spoke up. "This isn't our problem. It's Regina's."

"What?" Regina asked, the fear back in her eyes.

Mary Margaret turned to David, "David?"

"You want to let her die?" Emma asked.

"Why not? Then it goes away; then we're safe." David's glare never left Regina.

"That's quite the example you're setting for your daughter there," Regina retorted.

David took a few steps toward Regina, pointing towards her. "No! You don't get to judge us!"

"Let me ask you something. Where do you think that thing came from?" Regina asked.

"Gold," Dean answered, arms crossed as he watched this spectacle before him. Regina looked towards him, shocked that they already knew.

Emma turned towards David, "I made a promise to Henry. She's not dying."

Mary Margaret smiled slightly, before taking a deep breath. "Dean, you might have experience with creatures from _this _world – but if you don't know how to kill it and Regina doesn't, what _do _you suggest?" She turned her attention toward Regina.

Regina sighed, taking a moment to ponder on this query. "Send it somewhere it can't hurt anyone."

* * *

**Dean finally got to deal with something he could handle! And I just _had _to add in some over-protective Daddy Charming who doesn't appreciate this out-of-towner macking on his daughter. **

**"Dede42: I"m glad that Dean got to clobber Gold for everything, especially for locking up Cas like that, and I hope Cas will get a chance to teach Rumple a lesson after the Wraith has been dealt with." Yes! Cas vs Rumple will definitely be something exciting! Lol **

**"Eric the Looney: Aw man. Stupid smartphone posting issues. Anyhow, I just was thinking about how depending on how long you're going to keep this story going, Sam finding out about Ruby could make for an interesting alternate take on Child of the Moon if you're having them stick around for that long. I already like how you're starting to push the boundaries of canon what with Dean going all angry puncher on rump. Probably only the second surprise ordinary take that Rumpelstiltskin had since charming slashed his cheek. That being said, there's still some, questions going forward with the show/fic. Is Once canon about to be sidetracked by more Supers? Is Once canon going to stick around, but with more twists, like how having Dean's number might mean that the phone can penetrate all worlds instead of just all distances? How is the "loss of memory" line going to work here? How will these 3 people change Prince Charming as a character? Just some thoughts moving forward." These are all things that I will definitely be touching on, in their own time. **

**"crusnik08: oh you should totally bring death to storybrooke so dean can get the ring plus maybe bring in chuck both them playing roles would be interesting since rumple is playing in there backyard plus since chuck is the "prophet" he could be a big help for dean and Sam" Lol yeah a prophet vs prophet would definitely be interesting. **

**"Phoenicis Lunae: Let me start off by saying that is is an amazingly well-written, imaginative, in-character, and very hooking story! You do an amazing job of keeping the character sin-character, and their interactions as well! I had a lot of fun reading all of the chapters; it'd just one of the best Supernatural and/or Once Upon a Time fan fictions I have come across! That being said, I am glad of how well you fit in Dean, Sam, Cas, and now Bobby into the atmosphere of Storybrooke, Maine, with the rest of the Once Upon a Time fairy-tale, and other, characters. I can't wait to see how you write Season 2 of once Upon a Time, with Dean, Sam, Cas, and Bobby. Maybe even some evil Supernatural characters, such as Crowley, Abbadon, or another demon/entity. I bet Tamara and Greg are going to try and convince Dean and Sam to join their side, as well. One small thing, however: "Henry Mills needs help convincing his new-found mother, Emma Swan, to believe in magic so she can break Storybrooke's curse. Could Dean and Sam Winchester be just the help he needs to get Emma to believe? Or will they also need some convincing? Dean's dealt with a lot of things - demons, angels, witches, werewolfs - but magic may be a bit out of his belief system." Should be, "Henry Mills needs help convincing his newfound mother, Emma Swan, to believe in magic so she can break Storybrooke's curse. Could Dean and Sam Winchester be just the help he needs to get Emma to believe? Or will they also need some convincing? Dean's dealt with a lot of things - demons, angels, witches, werewolves - but magic may be a bit out of his belief system." Otherwise...this is bloody amazing! I can't wait for your next update, and I'm sure it will be a superb one!" Thank you! I've tried my very hardest to keep the characters in character. And I appreciate your proof reading of my summary, I will definitely fix that! :) **


	32. Chapter 32: Hat Trick

They all walked out of the sheriff station towards the Mayor's office per Regina's suggestion. She had an idea. Dean pulled out his phone to text Sam, telling him what happened and that they were heading to the courthouse.

Dean turned to Emma to ask if she was alright when he noticed her looking frantically around. "Wait, where's Cas?"

It registered to Dean that Cas hadn't been with them since they entered the station. "Dammit," he breathed out in frustration. "Cas! Get your feathery ass over here."

"No need to be so abrasive, Dean," Cas said as he appeared before them.

The group, still getting used to Cas' entrance, jumped slightly. Though Regina was the most surprised of all.

"What – Who the hell is this?" Regina asked.

"I'm an angel," Cas answered plainly.

Dean held up his hand to quiet both of them down. "Cas, where the hell did you go? We were fighting something! You don't bail on a fight!"

Cas sighed, "I walked into the building and analyzed the creature. I tried to execute it but," he looked down, as if ashamed of himself, "my powers work… _different_ here. It seems the more powerful something is from another world, it cancels out to my powers. Angels and magic were not meant to mix, Dean."

"So you just _bailed_?" Dean asked.

Cas creased his eye brows, "I knew you all could handle it. I didn't just _bail. _I heard a prayer from Bobby -"

"What? Bobby? Is he ok?"

"He's fine. But he had some information on the horsemen. You know, there is other stuff happening at the moment that also needs my assistance," Cas said as he tilted his head.

Emma rose an eye brow, "Horsemen?"

"Um," Dean nodded, "yeah. Like you know, from Revelations?"

"Ohhh, right. Apocalypse thing," Emma recalled the story Dean had told her the other night. "The whole your destiny being greater than mine thing."

Regina sighed dramatically, getting everyone's attention. "If you three are done I would like to get along with getting rid of this _thing _that's trying to kill me."

"Go to Granny's and tell Sam what Bobby told you. We can handle the wraith _ourselves_, no thanks to you," Dean told Cas. Cas looked down and sighed, then disappeared.

They started walking again towards the courthouse, Regina leading the way followed by Mary Margaret and David, then Dean and Emma.

Dean was so infuriated with Cas. No matter what his excuse, the guy should have learned by now the way this team worked. You don't just bail, not when others are at stake.

"Don't you think you were a little hard on him?" he heard Emma whisper to him as they hurried their walk.

Dean cleared his throat, "It doesn't matter. He left us when we needed him. When we needed to all stick together as a united front. That's what you do in the eyes of danger. You don't – you don't bail on family."

"Family?" Emma asked curiously.

"What?" Dean asked, realizing that he kind of went on a tiny rant and went a little farther than he had meant to.

Emma rose an eye brow and cocked a smile, "You called him family. He must mean a lot to you."

Dean looked down at his feet, unsure of how to respond. He'd never been good at describing his feelings; it wasn't something a war general taught his soldiers while they traveled cross-country. Words were not his strong suit. Action – action was how he told his feelings. And it was how he gaged other's feelings.

"Well, um. You know, he's an angel. So he's not _exactly _family," Dean rubbed the back of his neck. "But the guy has done a lot for us. He rebelled against all of heaven and he's fighting alongside us as we stand up for what we think is right. He's fought alongside us so many times; I owe him a lot. That's why I got so mad. He's like family to me. And if there's one important thing, _one thing_, I learned from my dad: family sticks together."

Emma looked down, as if contemplating what he was saying. He noticed that she looked up towards her parents. Her mouth said nothing, but her eyes spoke novels about how she was feeling right now towards the pair. Dean wondered if she was comparing his words to the actions of her parents. Suddenly he felt guilty, he hadn't meant for that to happen. Her case was incredibly different and he felt an intense desire to explain that to her; to help her not feel the way her eyes gave away.

But before he could speak, she cleared her throat, "You said he rebelled against heaven; that you all were standing up for what you think is right." She looked up at Dean with a curious gaze, "What do _you _think is right? I know you told me before about you having to wear an angel and your brother having to wear the devil and the whole fighting to the death apocalypse thing, which I still don't entirely understand." Dean chuckled at her description. "But why? How did it come down to that? I mean, you say you fight evil, which I totally believe now. But you mentioned rebelling against heaven. Now, I'm not saying I'm the most religious person in the world, but wouldn't the opposite of evil and the devil be good and heaven?"

Dean thought for a moment about this, trying to find the right words. He looked up at the trio in front of him. He pointed to them, "Look what we're doing. We're fighting alongside the Evil Queen, a classic villain and the woman responsible for you and your parents' misery. And we're fighting alongside Snow White and Prince Charming, a couple of the most famous heroes in literature." Emma nodded, following him. "There's always going to be _good guys _and _bad guys_. But it's not that simple. Sometimes the good guys do bad things for reasons they think are good. And sometimes bad guys do good things for all kinds of reasons. It's the same with heaven and hell. It's taken me some time to figure it out, but sometimes there's gray areas."

Emma nodded, "I understand."

The finally approached the courthouse.

"But I still want to hear about this whole apocalypse thing. And your job," Emma whispered.

Dean leaned down towards Emma, "I'll explain the rest when we finally catch a break and get some down time." She chuckled slightly, rolling her eyes in a silent _as if_.

David spoke up as Regina started to unlock the doors. "Alright, Snow and I will look for some torches or anything to light on fire to defend ourselves in the supply closet. Emma and Dean, go with Regina and get whatever it is we need to send this creature away."

Dean creased his brow, not used to being ordered around in a field he was an expert in. But Emma nodded as they followed Regina inside.

When they got to Regina's office, she pulled out some kind of round, old hat container and set it on a table. She opened it gently, but paused before pulling whatever was inside out.

Regina looked up towards Emma, "Did Henry really ask you to protect me?"

Emma leaned against the chair in front of her. "Yes."

Regina smiled slightly before turning back to what was in front of her. She reached in and pulled out a purple top hat.

He notice Emma react to it, as if she recognized it. Her mouth dropped slightly, "The hat. You had it all along."

"What do you mean?" Regina asked.

"That's Jefferson's hat," Emma explained.

Dean flinched to the man's name. "Jefferson? The crazy guy who I'm pretty sure you mentioned kidnapped you?"

Regina looked between the two of them, giving them a very stoic expression. "Who's Jefferson?" Dean narrowed his eyes at the woman; she was lying.

The doors to the office opened as Mary Margaret and David walked in carrying broom sticks. He held them up, "Torches. For when it comes back. I know it's old-fashioned, but so am I."

Mary Margaret looked down at the hat, "So, how does it work?"

"We need a large space."

They walked down stairs to the courtroom.

"It will open a portal to our land," Regina explained as she bent down in the middle of the room and placed the hat on the floor. "All we have to do is send the wraith in there."

"Oh, yeah. Just that," David said sarcastically.

Dean watched as this all played out, grabbing a broom stick.

"I don't understand," Mary Margaret spoke up. "I thought our land was gone."

Regina sighed, "It is. But sending it to a place that no longer exists – well, that's banishing it to oblivion."

Dean wasn't sure if he quite understood. This was far beyond his pay grade. But he was here for Emma and her family, so he was sticking with it.

The lights began to flash and the ground began to tremble. _This _was what Dean knew how to handle. He immediately got into defense position. David and Mary Margaret began to dump some of the alcohol on a table nearby on the broom sticks as Dean helped light the fire.

"Regina," Emma spoke up as Regina kept spinning the hat. Dean wasn't sure what was supposed to happen, but he assumed whatever it was wasn't this.

"I'm trying," Regina responded.

The roar of the Wraith caused Dean to tense and hold his ground, ready.

The doors blow open and the Wraith flew through. David and Dean stood at the courtroom gate opening and started to wave their torches to keep the Wraith away.

Regina, starting to panic, continued to try and spin the hat. Mary Margaret called her name again as she picked up the whiskey and poured a line of it along the gate top. "David!" she called and he turned around to close the gate.

He set his lit broom on the gate and lit it on fire as Dean continued to ward off the Wraith. "Hurry!" he yelled to Regina.

"It's not working!" Regina said, frustrated.

"What is the problem?" Emma asked next to her.

"Magic," Regina huffed. "It's different here."

"As fun as this is," Dean called from the other side of the gate, "I thought we'd be a little farther along by now."

Emma bent down next to Regina and put her hand on her arm. Regina spun the hat – this time it started to spin on its own. Purple fog, like the one that flooded the town, began to rise from the hat creating a vortex.

Dean turned around and looked towards Emma and Regina. The Wraith pushed David against the wall. Dean turned back around as the Wraith flew towards Regina and Emma. Dean jumped over the fence, despite the fire and ran to Emma's side.

"Regina!" Emma called out, pushing Regina out of the way as Dean grabbed Emma's hand to pull her away.

But something happened. As the Wraith attempted to suck the soul out of Regina, it grasped on to Emma's ankle, pulling her with it down the vortex. With Dean's hand in Emma's, he was pulled down with her.

As Dean fell down the portal he clung to Emma's hand, using all of his concentrated strength towards pulling her to him. In one last weightless pull, he felt his body slam against his. Her free hand grabbed at him as she tried to find something stable to hold on to as they continued to fall to their unknown end.

* * *

Mary Margaret, David, and Regina watched as both Emma and Dean had fallen into the portal.

"No!" both Mary Margaret and David yelled.

Mary Margaret stood at the edge of the portal, "I'm not losing her again!" She jumped into the vortex after them.

"Neither am I!" David yelled as he got up from the other side of the gate and jumped over the fence. He dove for the portal just as it was closing. He hit a solid floor, crushing the hat beneath him.

He sat up, gripping the hat in his hand as the realization hit him that he had once again lost both his wife and his daughter. "No," he frantically felt the ground. He looked up and over towards Regina, who stood off to the side. "Where are they?!" he growled as he stood up.

Regina simple stared down at the floor, "I have no idea."

David honed in on her, cornering her against the wall. "Are they dead?"

"The curse. It destroyed all the land."

"ARE THEY _DEAD_?!" he yelled.

"I don't know!" she replied.

David was steaming with rage as he listened to the woman speak. "I should have killed you myself."

Regina pushed him backwards, "Well, what's stopping you?"

Using her magic, she pushed David against the wall. The tree wall paper came to life as vines manifested and wrapped around David.

"You think you're some heroic prince?" The vines began to push at his throat, preventing him from speaking and breathing. "Please. You're nothing but the son of a shepherd. I should have killed you when I could," she reached her hand up towards his chest, "and now – now I can."

"Mom?!"

Regina dropped her hand and spun around to see Henry in the arms of Ruby, Sam standing behind them.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, noticing David wrapped in trees.

Regina avoided his question and concentrated on her son. "Henry, what are you doing here?"

"What are you doing?" Henry asked, a slight trimmer in his voice.

Regina walked over to Henry, "It's okay." She bent forward in front of him and took his hand. "You're safe now."

Sam felt his instincts take over and he suddenly felt the need to pull Henry out of her grasp. The vines disappeared and David fell to the floor. Ruby ran over to David to see if he was alright while Sam kept his eyes on the mayor.

"Where's my mom?" Henry asked. "Where's -"

"They're gone," Regina simply stated. "They fell through a portal. They're -"

"They _what_?!" Sam asked.

"Henry, I'm sorry," Regina refused to turn away from her son.

Henry shook his head, taking a step backwards into Sam. "No, you're not. You – you really are the evil queen. I don't want to see you again." Sam put his hand on Henry's shoulder in a protective gesture

"No, don't say that," Regina reached out to him, "I love you."

"Then prove it!" Henry said. "Get Emma and Mary Margaret and Dean back. And until then, leave me, leave _everyone _alone."

"Where will you go?" she asked.

"With me," David announced as Ruby helped him to his feet. He walked over to Henry, pulling him into him.

"_Wait _a minute!" Sam shouted, finally getting everyone's attention. "Where is my brother? What _happened_?"

"Sam," Ruby said in a calming voice as she put her hand on his shoulder. "David will explain. Let's just get out of here."

Sam huffed, he wasn't happy about leaving the woman he assumed was responsible for whatever had just happened. But he followed them regardless.

On the way to Mary Margaret's apartment, David explained to the trio what exactly had happened. Sam grew frantic, his brother was lost somewhere they weren't even sure was there.

When they got in the apartment, Henry walked over to the kitchen counter and stared at a picture of Emma and Mary Margaret.

"Hey, don't worry," David said as he put his hand on Henry's shoulder. "Emma and Mary Margaret, they're alive." David looked up at Sam, who was looking to David for an explanation. "And Dean."

"How do you know?" Henry asked.

David looked between his grandson and Sam, "I have faith."

Sam felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. _Faith_. Apparently the Prince and he had different experiences with the notion.

"But -" Henry began.

"Henry, come here," David got down on his knees as he squeezed the boy's hands. "I _will _find them. I will always find them."

* * *

In another land, Mulan and Aurora stumbled upon a pile of debris in Aurora's kingdom. Mulan cautiously pushed aside a couple of large pieces to reveal three bodies.

"Mulan, what is that?" Aurora asked.

"That… that is what brought the wraith here. That's what killed our prince."

Mary Margaret, Emma, and Dean laid among the debris, unconscious.

* * *

**I'm SO sorry this chapter took so long! I've started a couple of other stories and I've been a bit busy in my "real world" life. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter though! I promise not to take so long with the next one! :) **

**"The Dementor - er, the Wraith has been chased off for now, but it'll be back, and I already know how they'll get rid of it. I'm looking forward to Cas teaching that little imp a lesson and I'm still looking forward to Bobby showing up." Bobby will definitely show up soon! **

**"crusnik08: yeah prophet chuck who may actually believe is god cuz at the end of season five he just vanishes if people of storybrooke start enncountering there higher level supernatural creatures like god and death and the archangels plus leviathans they might end up having bigger issues lol" Well, leviathans actually depend on how far I'll take this story, seeing as they're like two seasons (for SPN) away from where they are currently! But I'm really looking forward to throwing more SPN characters and story lines in with Storybrooke and everything. And yes, I definitely think that Chuck is God. **

**"Okdes: I think the hunters need to actually hunt something sometime. C'mon man, add a Wendigo or Vampire or Werewolf or something! The rest is good, though." Storybrooke has been invisible to the rest of the world up until just a few chapters ago lol so it wasn't possible for something in the SPN world to show up. But soon, be patient! I can promise you... A werewolf is definitely in the near future! ;) **

**"xelacy: love it, can't wait for me." Thank you! :) **

**"Eric the Looney" Most of the stuff in my story is intentional, and will probably be explained in later chapters. Just as this was. I have a pretty rough outline of this story laid out. Cas is going to have to deal with his own angel powers against something that isn't from our world: magic. Something that Cas in particular has never had to deal with. We'll see him having to toy with that and figuring out the different types of power. We might meet angels later who know how to deal with magic. I've tried to lay out a basic understanding that in this story's universe, Dean and Sam's world is a land without magic. The magic that does come into their world is from other worlds that do have magic. As do the supernatural creatures they fight (Purgatory, for example, in this story will be considered another land). Angels and demons are the only "natural" unhuman creatures in their world. And I'll explain it more in debt later in the story when it becomes relevant, but maybe this small tidbit will be helpful for the time being. I'm very invested in this story and I've done a lot of prior brainstorming and planning to create a hopefully plausible and enjoyable story. About the wraith, it ****_might _****be able to be killed. We've seen in SPN Sam and Dean hunt a wraith (a different one than this one, however) and they did kill it. But neither Regina nor Sam or Dean knew how to kill this one, so they didn't. For this wraith, I tried to go with information given by OUAT. I have a feeling we will be seeing more of that wraith whenever we learn how (spoilers) Aurora and Mulan got Phillip's soul back based on this current season in OUAT. I didn't want to make any decisions that would trap me in an inaccurate corner. I hope that all of this makes sense in my very long and tedious explanation. **


End file.
